
63d Congeess / 
td Session ) 



SENATE 



j Document 
] No. 381 



STRIKE IN THE 
COPPER MINING DISTRICT 



H D 

Copy 2. 



OF MICHIGAN 



LETTER FROM 
THE SECRETARY OF LABOR 



TRANSMITTING 

IN RESPONSE TO A SENATE RESOLUTION OF 

JANUARY 29, 1914, A REPORT IN REGARD 

TO THE STRIKE OF MINE WORKERS IN THE 

MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT WHICH 

BEGAN ON JULY 23, 1913 



♦ 



JANUARY 30, 1914. — Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
and ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1914 








: 



ii\b 






63d Congress ) SENATE \ Document 

2d Session J } No. 381 

STRIKE IN THE 
COPPER MINING DISTRICT 

OF MICHIGAN 

' <& 

in 

LETTER FROM 
THE SECRETARY OF LABOR 

TRANSMITTING 

IN RESPONSE TO A SENATE RESOLUTION OF 

JANUARY 29, 1914, A REPORT EN REGARD 

TO THE STRIKE OF MINE WORKERS IN THE 

MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT WHICH 

BEGAN ON JULY 23, 1913 



f 



JANUARY 30, 1914. — Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
and ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1914 




.N\na 
t ni a 



D. OF 0, 
FEB 18 1914 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of Labor, 

Office of the Secretary, 
Washington, January 29, 1914. 
Sir: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of January 29, 
1914, I transmit herewith a report in regard to the strike of mine 
workers in the Michigan copper district which began on July 23, 1913. 
This report includes the results of an investigation made under the 
direction of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, together with 
reports of the efforts made by Mr. John A. Mofntt and Mr. John 
B. Densmore, as mediators in behalf of the Department of Labor 
to secure an adjustment of the dispute either by mediation or 
arbitration. 

Respectfully, 

W. B. Wilson, Secretary. 
Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, 

President of the Senate, Washington, I). C. 

3 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Report of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics in regard to the strike 7-166 

Introduction _ 7-9 

Causes of the strike 9-11 

Wages of mine workers 11-21 

Hours of labor 21-25 

The tramming trouble 26-28 

The one-man drill. 28-34 

Deductions from earnings 34, 35 

The Western Federation of Miners 35-38 

The vote for a strike 38-40 

Beginning of the strike 40-44 

Continuation of the strike 44-49 

The militia, deputy sheriffs, and imported guards 49-60 

Inj unctions against picketing 60-62 

Strike breakers brought in 62-66 

Violence during the strike. 66-75 

Arbitration proposals unavailing 75-96 

Discrimination and adjustment of grievances 98-101 

Concessions the companies would make 101-103 

Underground conditions 103-109 

Accidents in and about the mines 110-112 

Houses occupied by mine workers 113-117 

Stipulations in leases 117-122 

Living conditions 123, 124 

Welfare work 124-128 

The Michigan copper district 128-132 

Population of the district 133-136 

Appendix I. — Agreement between Western Federation of Miners and 

Butte & Superior Copper Co 137, 138 

Appendix II. — Organization and properties of the Calumet & Hecla 

Mining Co. and subsidiary companies 139-164 

Appendix III. — Capital paid in. dividends, and cost of production of 

Lake Superior Mines 165, 166 

Report of Mr. John B. Densmore, Solicitor of the Department of Labor, 
detailed as commissioner of conciliation, on his efforts to secure a settlement 

of the strike 167-169 

Report of Mr. John A. MotBtt, immigrant inspector, detailed as commissioner 
of conciliation of the Department of Labor, on his efforts to secure a settle- 
ment of the strike 170-183 

5 



I 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR 
STATISTICS IN REGARD TO STRIKE OF MINE 
WORKERS IN THE MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT. 



United States Department or Labor, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Washington, November 2 If., 1918. 
Sir: I transmit herewith a report containing the results of an 
investigation into the strike of mine workers in the Michigan copper 
district, begun on July 23, 1913. The investigation has been carried 
on by Mr. Walter B. Palmer of this Bureau, and the text of the report 
has been prepared by him. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Royal Meeker, 
Commissioner of Labor Statistics. 
Secretary of Labor, 

Washington, D. C. 



INTRODUCTION. 

This report relates to a strike of mine workers which began on July 
23, 1913, in the Michigan copper district. The principal cause of the 
strike was dissatisfaction with regard to wages, hours of labor, and 
the use of the one-man drill instead of the two-man drill. The 
strikers were members of the Western Federation of Miners, which 
was established in the district in 1909, and which in 1913 had five 
local unions in the district. In these local unions there was a refer- 
endum vote, during the first 12 days in July, on the question of asking 
for a conference with the mine managers and on the question of declar- 
ing a strike if the managers should refuse to grant a conference or 
make concessions. The officials of the Western Federation of Miners 
state that at that time it had nearly 9,000 members in the district, 
and that 98 per cent of the votes cast were in the affirmative on each 
of the two propositions. 

On July 14 the president and secretary of the district union, com- 
posed of the ^.ye local unions, sent a communication to the mine 
managers which stated that they hoped "to sell their labor collect- 
ively/ 7 and that they desired to have a conference with the managers 
to discuss "the possibilities of shortening the working day, raising 
wages, and making some changes in the working conditions." The 
communication stated that, as ordered by a referendum vote, a strike 
would be called unless the managers should agree to a conference or 
make concessions, and replies were requested by July 21. None of 



8 MICHIGAN COPPER DISIEICT STRIKE. 

the managers replied to the communication, because they considered 
that by doing so they would recognize the Western Federation of 
Miners. At a meeting of the district union on July 22 a strike was 
called, to take effect immediately. 

Every mine in the district was closed on July 23, except two of the 
very small mines. Including the strikers, about 14,500 mine workers 
were made idle by the strike. The mines being closed, work was 
necessarily stopped in the stamp mills and smelters, which had about 
1,500 employees. 

During the first two days of the strike there was much rioting, 
occasioned by members of the federation attempting to prevent 
nonunion men from going to work. Sixteen men employed by one 
of the companies were injured and taken to the company's hospital. 
The sheriff of Houghton County called on the governor of Michigan 
for troops to quell disorder. The governor ordered troops to the 
district and they began to arrive on July 25. Within two days the 
whole National Guard of the State, over 2,600 men, had arrived. 
They encamped in tents on the property of the various companies. 

In addition to the militia, there were during the strike about 1,700 
deputy sheriffs, about 450 of whom had been appointed before the 
strike began. Many of these deputies were employees of the com- 
panies. The sheriff of Houghton County engaged 52 men from the 
Waddell-Mahon Corporation of New York to train these deputies. 
From this corporation one of the mining companies engaged 32 men 
and another company 25 men. Another company secured about 
120 men from the Ascher Detective Agency of New York. The 
bringing in of these outside guards incensed the strikers more than 
anything else that happened during the strike. 

The strikers hired halls, held public and private meetings, and had 
daily parades at the various mine locations. They were addressed 
by officials of the Western Federation of Miners, the United Mine 
Workers of America, and the American Federation of Labor. These 
organizations raised relief funds for the benefit of the strikers, and 
payment of strike benefits began in September. 

After the first two days of the strike there was little disorder until 
the middle of August, when work was resumed in some of the mines 
of one of the companies. Many strikers were arrested for interfering 
with men going to work. Some were arrested charged with more 
serious crimes, but of cases tried in the circuit court no defendant 
was convicted of a more serious offense than assault. A number of 
mines were opened in September and October, and some of the com- 
panies brought in men to work in the mines who were engaged 
through employment agencies in New York, Chicago, and other 
places. Some of these men did not go to work when they learned of 
the strike, and others quit after working a few days. 

A striker was shot in both legs by a corporal because of neglect to 
obey an order to halt. A private was waylaid by unknown parties, 
and so badly beaten that he was unconscious for hours. In attempt- 
ing to arrest a striker for having trespassed on company property, 
two deputies and four Waddell-Mahon men shot into a mine workers' 
boarding house and killed two and wounded two of the strikers. In 
a clash between deputy sheriffs and strikers shots were fired by the 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 9 

former. One of these shots entered the brain of a girl, and her re- 
cover y was considered marvelous. In a fight between a deputy 
sheriff and a striker both were killed. A clerk of one of the com- 
panies, while passing a group of strikers, was shot at twice, one shot 
going through his body. These were the most serious cases of vio- 
lence during the strike. No attempt was made by the strikers to 
damage property. 

Some troops were stationed in Keweenaw County but none in 
Ontonagon County. In these counties there was little disorder, and 
practically none until October, when some of the mines were re- 
opened. 

Most of the parades of the strikers were timed to pass the mines 
and mine villages at the hour in the morning when men started to 
work. On application of the mining companies, the judge of the State 
circuit court issued an injunction, which restrained the strikers from 
interfering with men who wished to go to work, from picketing in or 
about the mines, and from parading on highways over which employ- 
ees had to pass to reach their homes or the mines. This injunction 
was issued on September 20, but the same judge that had issued it 
dissolved it on September 29. On application of the companies, the 
State supreme court reinstated and continued the injunction, but 
modified it to the extent that peaceful meetings and parading were 
not prohibited. After this several hundred strikers and 50 or more 
women were arrested for violation of the injunction. Most of them 
were arrested while they were on early morning parades. Most of 
these arrests were made by the militia. Those arrested were held on 
their own recognizance. 

The mine managers refused to confer with members of the Western 
Federation of Miners, and in reemploying men required them to prom- 
ise to have no connection with that organization. Two attempts to 
bring about an arbitration of the questions involved in the strike were 
made by the governor and one by the United States Department of 
Labor. The companies refused all arbitration proposals, because of 
their determination not to recognize the Western Federation of 
Miners directly or indirectly. In October a committee, appointed 
by the Copper Country Commercial Club, made a report, which dis- 
cussed the matters in controversy and announced that the mine man- 
agers had agreed that they would, by January 1, 1914, arrange that 
underground men should work only eight hours per shift. The report 
also stated that the mine managers had agreed to give opportunity 
for the presentation of all grievances, and to appoint a day or half a 
day each week for hearing and adjusting grievances. 

CAUSES OF THE STRIKE. 

Dissatisfaction regarding wages, hours of labor, and the use of the 
one-man drill was the principal cause of the strike of mine workers 
which began in the Michigan copper district on July 23, 1913. These 
and other grievances are discussed in subsequent sections of this 
report. 

Xo definite demands were made by the mine workers before the 
strike began, except that the local officers of the Western Federation 



10 MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTRICT STRIKE. 

of Miners sent a communication to the mine managers, informing 
them that their employees organized into local unions of the federa- 
tion desired to hold a conference with them "for the purpose of dis- 
cussing the possibilities of shortening the working day, raising wages, 
and making some changes in the working conditions.'' The mana- 
gers considered that if they should grant such a conference, or even 
reply to this communication, it would be giving recognition to the 
federation. 

The copper-mine workers in Michigan, comparing their earnings 
with those of the copper-mine workers in Montana, found that in 
Michigan the rate of pay was much less than miners earn in Montana, 
where the Western Federation of Miners was strongly organized. 
While the average earnings per shift of mine workers in Michigan are 
less than the average of such workers in Montana the shift hours are 
longer in Michigan. This is true especially of trammers, timber men, 
and track laj-ers. 

In the Michigan district all underground workers are under ground 
from 10 to 11 hours a day or night shift, this including 1 hour for 
luncheon. On Saturday in Michigan the miners on day shift work 5 J 
hours, but there is no night shift, while trammers work 8^ hours, both 
day and night shift, including 1 hour for luncheon. The time 
stated for all underground workers in Michigan includes the time 
required for going to the working places and returning to the surface. 

In Montana the Western Federation of Miners has contracts with 
the mining companies which stipulate that the time of each shift 
shall be 8^ hours, including half an hour allowed for luncheon, and 
including the time required to go from the surface to the working 
places, but not the time required to return to the surface. 

The contracts stipulate that the minimum wages or earnings of 
underground men, whether engaged in mining, tramming, timbering, 
tracklaying, or other work, shall be $3.50 per day, on the basis of the 
price of copper being less than 15 cents a pound; and if copper is 
selling at 15 and under 17 cents, the minimum shall be $3.75; and if 
it is selling at 17 cents or over, the minimum shall be $4. 

A copy of one of the Montana contracts appears in the appendix 
to this report. The sliding scale of minimum wages is based on the 
monthly average price of electrolytic copper, as published in the 
Mining and Engineering Journal of New York. According to this 
journal the average price was below 15 cents a pound in January. 
February, and March, 1912; over 15 and under 17 cents in May and 
June, 1912; over 17 cents from JuW to December, inclusive, 1912; over 
15 and under 17 cents in January, 1913; under 15 cents in February 
and March, 1913; over 15 and under 17 cents in April and May. 1913; 
under 15 cents in June and July, 1913; over 15 and under 17 cents 
in August and September. 1913. 

In the Michigan copper district the mine workers have never had 
any contracts with the mining companies other than such terms as 
were fixed by the companies, and the companies have never stipu- 
lated in regard to a minimum wage. In some mines in this district 
miners on day or night shifts are paid as low as $2.35 per shift, while 
trammers are paid as low as $2. 



MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 11 

No investigation was made of the earnings of mine workers in 
Montana. The minimum wage there is considerably higher than the 
average earnings in the Michigan copper district, but the earnings 
in the two districts could not be well compared without taking into 
account the cost of living in each district, which was not ascertained 
in this investigation. 

WAGES OF MINE WORKERS. 

Each of the companies involved in the strike was requested to 
state what increases had been made in wages or in contract rates 
during recent years, back to 1900, if possible. One of the most 
definite statements was made by the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., 
which reported that its wages and rates had been changed as fol- 
lows: March, 1899, a raise of 10 per cent: January, 1901, a raise of 
2 \ per cent; May, 1907, a raise of 10 per cent; December, 1907, a 
cut of 10 per cent: May, 1912, a raise of 10 per cent. Some of these 
changes were made by other companies on or about the months 
mentioned. Practically all of the companies in the district increased 
wages and contract prices 10 per cent in May, 1912. 

Some miners work "on company account" or monthly basis, but 
many work on a contract basis. Contracts were formerly let on the 
basis of a cubic fathom of rock mined, but now they are usually let 
on the basis of tons mined. In no mines is the rock actually weighed, 
but the pay of contract miners is figured on the number of tramcar 
loads of rock which they blast out and which the trammers push to 
the shaft. In each mine the dimensions of the tramcars are the 
same, but the load, of course, depends on how fully they are filled 
or how much they are heaped. The miners seem to have accepted 
without much complaint this method of estimating their produc- 
tion, though it is rather surprising that such a crude method has 
not caused dissatisfaction. 

Most of the mine managers who prefer the contract system, or 
prefer it if practicable, state that they prefer it because it gives an 
efficient miner an opportunity to increase his earnings above the 
regular monthly rate. Many miners also prefer the contract sys- 
tem because they can earn more by that system than by the ordinary 
monthly rate. All pay rolls that were examined showed that the 
average earnings of the miners and trammers on contract were 

g eater than the average earnings of those paid by the month. 
owever, complaints are heard among certain contract miners 
because during some months then earnings would be unusually 
low on account of the poor rock mined, or some other run of bad 
luck. Contract rates are sometimes fixed by the mine captain 
(foreman), but more generally by him and the superintendent or 
general manager. Monthly wages are always determined by the 
management . 

The only mine workers that work on contract are miners and 
trammers/ The following table shows the number of miners and 
trammers working on contract and monthly bases in July, 1913, just 



12 



MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 



before the strike began, and shows which system the mine man- 
agers prefer, according to their own statements: 





Miners on— 


Trammers on — 


Contract 
basis 


Mine. 


Contract 
basis. 


Monthly 
basis. 


Contract 
basis. 


Monthly 
basis. 

42 
2 
( 2 ) 
( 2 ) 


or shift 
basis pre- 
ferred by 
manage- 
ment. 


Ahmeek 


138 

79 

652 

( 2 ) 
26 
11 




75 
94 

( 2 ) 
( 2 ) 

17 




Allouez 


2 
60 
( 2 ) 

2 
43 
47 
93 
34 

6 


Do. 1 


Calumet & Hecla 


Do. 


Copper Range 


Do.i 


Centennial 


Do. 1 


Franklin 


42 

29 

157 

25 

( 3 ) 

( 3 ) 

31 

126 

3 

«296 


Do 


Hancock 




Shift 


Isle Royale 


56 
6 




Contract. 1 


Lake 




Do. 


La Salle 




Do. 


Laurium 


( 4 ) 




Do. 


Mass 


38 

14 

9 

2 

2 

42 

500 

16 

38 

18 

( 3 ) 




( 5 ) 
Contract 


Mohawk 


225 




Oneco 




Shift. 


Osceola 


56 
94 
34 
140 
22 
73 
64 




Contract. 


North Kearsarge 




Do. 1 


South Kearsarge 






Do. 1 


Quincy 




200 


Do. 1 


Superior 


32 


Do. 1 


Tamarack 


77 
( 3 > 
( 3 ) 

86 


Do. 


Winona 




Do. 1 


Houghton 




Do. 1 


Wolverine 


98 




Do. 1 










Total 


7 1,774 
64.74 


8 966 
35.36 


9 218 
16.34 


ici.116 
83.66 




Per cent of total 









1 When practicable. 

* Not reported. 

s All on shift basis; number not reported. 

* All on contract basis; number not reported, 
s Would have to be determined by trial. 

e North Kearsarge and South Kearsarge included. 

7 Not including Copper Range and Laurium. 

8 Not including Copper Range and Houghton. 

9 Not including Calumet & Hecla and Copper Range. 

10 Not including Calumet & Hecla, Copper Range, La Salle, Laurium, Winona, and Houghton. 

Of the total number of miners, 2,740, reported on either contract 
or monthly basis, 1,774, or 64.74 per cent, were on contract basis, 
and 966, or 35.26 per cent, on monthly basis. Of the total number 
of trammers. 1,334, reported on either contract or monthly basis, 
218, or 16.34 per cent, were on contract basis, and 1,116, or 83.66 
per cent, on monthly basis. Until January 1, 1913, a curious custom 
prevailed in all of the mines in the Michigan copper range, and it pre- 
vails yet in all mines except those of the Calumet & Hecla and its 
subsidiary companies. Miners that work full five and one-half day 
shifts or full five-night shifts are paid on the basis of having worked 
six shifts. Paying miners on this basis is an old Cornish custom im- 
ported into Michigan years ago. On January 1, 1913, this custom 
was modified by the Calumet & Hecla and its subsidiary companies, 
and these companies have since paid miners on night shifts for only 
five shifts a week, though they continue to pay miners on day shifts 
on the basis of having worked six shifts a week. On the same date 
these companies increased the rate of pay of miners "on company 
account" 25 cents per shift. In analyzing the tables relating to 
wages that follow, it is necessary to bear the old Cornish custom in 
mind . 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



13 



An examination of the pay rolls of the mining companies involved 
in the strike of 1913 (except of a few companies having very small 
mines) was made by agents of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and, 
from the figures thus secured, the tables which follow were compiled. 
These tables relate to the earnings of miners and trammers who to- 
gether compose about half of the mine workers and who comprised the 
greater number of mine workers that went out on strike. All earnings 
shown in these tables are what the employees received after deduc- 
tions had been made for materials used in the mines, such as powder, 
caps, fuse, and carbide, but not including deductions for medical 
attention, aid fund, rent, fuel, etc. 

The following table shows the average number and average earn- 
ings of miners employed by each company during the 12 months prior 
to July, 1913, in which month the strike began: 



Average daily earnings of miners, year ending June 30, 1913. 





Six months ending 
Dec. 31, 1912. 


Six months ending 
June 30, 1913. 


Total for year end- 
ing June 30, 1913. 


Mining company. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 


No. 1. Calument & Hecla 


908 
83 
158 
99 
256 
178 
134 
134 
51 
40 


$3.22 
2.99 
3.26 
2.77 
2.79 
3.01 
3.24 
2.95 
3.58 
2.75 


754 
81 
120 
85 
212 
137 
123 
95 
47 
34 
1 

6 


$3.60 
3.44 
3.59 
3.03 
3.13 
3.56 
3.37 
3.60 
3.55 
3.49 
3.98 
3.26 


831 

82 
139 

92 
234 
158 
129 
114 

49 

37 


$3.39 


No. 2. Osceola 

No. 3. North Kearsarge 


3.21 
3.40 


No. 4. South Kearsarge 


2.89 


No. 5. Isle Royale 


2.94 


No. 6. Ahmeek 

No. 7. Tamarack 

No. 8. Allouez 

No. 9. Superior , 

No. 10. Centennial 

No. 11. La Salle 


3.25 
3.30 
3.22 
3.57 
. 3.09 


No. 12. Laurium 


9 


3.86 


7 


3.62 


Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


2,050 


3.11 


1,695 


3.48 


1,872 


3.28 






No. 13 

No. 14 

No. 15 


320 
200 
365 
670 
308 
125 
112 
106 


2.69 
2.67 
2.67 
2.75 
2.84 
2.83 
2.71 
2.91 


281 
186 
369 
634 
253 
107 
114 
100 


2.70 
2.71 
2.68 
2.79 
2.81 
2.86 
2.57 
2.88 


301 
193 
367 
652 
281 
116 
113 
103 


2.68 


No. 16 • 


2.77 


No. 17 


2.83 


No. 18 


2.84 


No. 19 


2.64 


No. 20 


2.90 


No. 21 




No. 22 


58 
43 
13 
36 


2.49 
2.98 
2.61 
2.63 


155 

48 
10 
39 


12.48 
2.66 
2.61 
2.63 


2 57 
46 
12 

38 


2 2. 48 


No. 23 


2.81 


No. 24 


2.61 


No. 25 


2.63 






Total, Nos. 13 to 25 


2,356 


2.74 


i 2, 196 


12.78 


2 2,279 


2 2.74 






Total, all companies 


4,406 


2.91 


13,891 


13.08 


2 4,151 


2 2. 98 


1 5 months; mine idle in May, 1913. 




2 11 


months; 


mine idle in May, 1913. 



The average number of miners was found for this table by dividing 
the total number of shifts worked, as shown on the pay rolls, by the 
number of shifts that the mine was operated during each six-month 
period. In each of the tables that follow a similar method was 
adopted to find the average number of miners and trammers. 

The first company shown in the preceding table is the Calumet & 
Hecla Mining Co., and its subsidiary companies are numbered 2 to 



14 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

12. Other companies reporting are numbered 13 to 25. The earn- 
ings of miners employed during the year by the Calumet & Hecla 
and subsidiary companies varied from $2.89 to $3.62 per shift and 
averaged $3.28. The earnings of miners employed during the year 
by the other companies varied from $2.48 to $2.90 per shift and 
averaged $2.74. The general average for all companies during the 
year was $2.98. 

Miners do not work Saturday afternoons, hence in a month of 30 
days without holiday they work only 23 shifts. But under the old 
Cornish custom their shift rate is computed by dividing their monthly 
rate by 26, because under this custom miners that work oj-day shifts 
a week or 5 night shifts a week are counted as having worked 6 shifts. 
In other words, the monthly rate of " company account" miners is 
divided by 26 to arrive at the shift rate, and if a miner is absent 1 
day one twenty-sixth of his monthly rate is deducted from his pay; 
if he is absent 2 days, two twenty-sixths of his monthly rate is 
deducted. If he works an extra shift on overtime work or in a month 
of 31 days, he is paid one twenty-sixth more than his monthly rate. 

The shift rate is thus computed from the monthly rate by all com- 
panies except the Calumet & Hecla and its subsidiary companies. 
Prior to January 1, 1913, the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary com- 
panies followed the old Cornish custom, and divided the monthly 
rate by 26 to obtain the shift rate, but since then they have divided 
the monthly rate by 24 instead of 26. They did this because they 
stopped counting night-shift miners, who work 5 shifts a week, as 
having worked 6 shifts, though they continued to count day-shift 
miners who work 5J shifts a week as working 6 shifts. This, in part, 
explains why the average shift rate of miners of the Calumet & Hecla 
and subsidiary companies was higher during the first 6 months 
of 1913 than it was during the last 6 months of 1912. Another 
reason given by the company for this increase is the increased amount 
of contract mining, and still another reason assigned is the increased 
use of the one-man drill. 

It should be understood that there has been no change in the time 
that miners work. If they work full time they actually work 23 
shifts (counting two half shifts on Saturday forenoons as one shift) in a 
month of 30 days without holidays. 

In computing the rate per shift for contract miners, their earnings 
for the month are divided by the actual number of shifts that they 
worked, but with the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies 
Saturday half shifts are counted as full shifts, and with the other com- 
panies Saturday half shifts are counted as full shifts, and an extra 
shift on Saturday night is counted. 

The different methods of computing the shift rate should be con- 
sidered in comparing the rates shown in the table that are paid by the 
Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies with the rates that are 
paid by the other companies. The rates for the first 6 months in 
1913 can be put on an equal basis only by multiplying the shift rates 
of the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies by 24 and dividing 
by 26, or by multiplying the shift rates of the other companies, as they 
appear in the table, by 26 and dividing them by 24. 

If the average shown in the table for miners employed by the 
Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies during the first 6 months 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



15 



in 1913, $3.48 per shift, be multiplied by 24 and divided by 26, the 
result is $3.21 per shift, as compared with $2.78 per shift paid by 
other companies on the same basis. 

If, however, the earnings per shift are calculated on the time ac- 
tually worked — that is, on the basis of 23 shifts — the average shift rate 
is increased above that which is shown in the table. Taking the 
earnings of miners employed by the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary 
companies during the first 6 months of 1913 and multiplying the aver- 
age shift rate shown in the table by 24 and dividing by 23, the result 
is $3.63 per shift instead of $3.48. Taking the earnings of miners 
employed by the other companies during the same period and mul- 
tiplying the average shift rate shown in the table by 26 and dividing 
by 23, the result is $3.14 per shift instead of $2.78. 

The following table shows the average number and average earn- 
ings of trammers employed by each company during the 12 months 
prior to July, 1913, in which month the strike began. 

Average daily earnings of trammers, year ending June 30, 1913. 





Six months ending 
Dec. 31, 1912. 


Six months ending 
June 30, 1913. 


Total for year end- 
ing June 30, 1913. 


Mining company. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 


Average 
number 
of men. 


Average 
earnings 
per day 
or shift. 




600 
62 
138 
95 
138 
132 
111 
94 
48 
26 


$2.84 
2.54 
2.54 
2.54 
2.55 
2.73 
2.75 
2.68 
2.62 
2.61 


539 
71 

132 
87 

131 

115 
95 

103 

30 

29 

2 

2 


$2.99 
2.54 
2.54 
2.54 
2.57 
2.85 
2.76 
2.73 
3.14 
2.70 
2.46 
2.46 


570 
67 
135 
91 
135 
124 
103 
98 
39 
28 


$2.91 




2.54 


No . 3 . North Kearsarge 


2.54 


No. 4. South Kearsarge 


2.54 


No. 5. Isle Royale 


2.55 




2.78 


No. 7. Tamarack 


2.75 


No. 8. Allouez 


2.70 


No. 9. Superior 


2.82 


No. 10. Centennial 


2.66 


No. 11. La Salle 




No. 12. Laurium 


§" 


2.53 


2 


2.50 






Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


1,447 


2.71 


1,336 


2.80 


1,392 


2.75 






No. 13 


169 
77 
175 
207 
189 
103 
68 
95 


2.31 
2.31 
2.31 
2.51 
2.53 
2.50 
2.20 
2.38 


135 
72 
i 143 
199 
161 
94 
64 
90 


2.31 
2.32 
12.31 
2.51 
' 2.55 
2.49 
2.40 
2.38 


152 

74 

2 160 

203 

175 

98 

66 

92 


2.31 


No. 14 


2.32 


No. 15 


2 2.31 


No. 16 


2.51 


No. 17 


2.54 


No. 18 


2.49 


No. 19 


2.30 


No. 20 


2.38 


No 21 




No 22 


55 

24 

4 

36 


2.31 
2.46 
2.36 
2.31 


3 50 

25 

3 

34 


3 2.30 
2.27 
2.54 
2.31 


4 53 

24 

3 

35 




<2.30 


No. 23 


2.36 


No. 24... 


2.43 


No. 25 


2.31 






Total, Nos. 13 to 25 


1,202 


2.40 


5 1,070 


5 2.41 


6 1,135 


6 2. 40 






Total, all companies 


2,649 


2.57 


a 2, 406 


»2.63 


« 2, 527 


6 2.59 







1 5 months; not including June, 1913. 
2 11 months; not including June, 1913. 
ji 5 months; mine idle in May, 1913. 



* 11 months; mine idle in May, 1913. 

ft Including 2 companies reporting for 5 months. 

6 Including 2 companies reporting for 11 months. 



As the Cornish custom has never been applied to trammers, a sim- 
pler explanation can be made of the table that relates to trammers 
than of the table that relates to miners. The rates per shift are fig- 
ured on the same basis for all companies. The monthly earnings 



16 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



of contract trammers are divided by the actual number of shifts 
that they worked, and the monthly wages of " company account" 
trammers are divided by 26 or 27, since thev work, when working 
full time, 26 shifts in a 30-day month and 27 shifts in a 31-day month, 
the Saturday shifts, day or night shifts, being two hours shorter than 
the shifts on other days. 

As shown by the table, the earnings of trammers employed during 
the year by the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies varied 
from $2.50 to $2.91 per shift and averaged $2.75; the earnings of tram- 
mers employed during the year by the other companies varied from 
$2.30 to $2.54, and averaged $2.40; and the general average for all 
companies during the year was $2.59. 

From the pay rolls of the various companies agents of the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics obtained the monthly rates of all miners and 
trammers working on "company account" during May, 1913, and the 
earnings and number of shifts worked by each contract miner and 
trammer during that month. From the data thus secured, the rates 
per shift were computed, and these rates were classified by amounts, 
as^appears in the following tables, the first of which relates to miners. 

Average earnings per day or shift and average number and per cent of miners earning each 
classified amount per day or shift in May, 1913. 

AVERAGE NUMBER. 





Aver- 
age 
num- 
ber of 
miners. 


Aver- 
age 
earn- 
ings 
per 
day or 
shift. 


Miners earning each classified amount per day or shift. 


Mining company. 


Under 

$2. 


82 and 
under 
$2.50. 


$2.50 
and 

under 
$3. 


S3 and 
under 
$3.50. 


$3.50 
and 

under 
$4. 


$4 and 
under 
$4.50. 


$4.50 
and 
over. 


No. 1. Calumet & Hecla 


719.3 

65.9 

98.8 

79.4 

197.3 

139.2 

108.8 

91.0 

46.6 

31.9 


S3. 54 
3.45 
3.69 
3.06 
3.15 
3.72 
3.39 
3.57 
3.68 
3.40 






46.5 
4.1 


384.7 
46.6 
57.0 
19.3 
89.9 
61.1 
63.8 
69.3 
33.8 
26.4 


193.6 
5.6 
15.2 
3.9 
9.7 
24.2 
13.5 
11.6 
1.9 
3.2 


72.2 
3.7 

15.3 
3.9 
8.2 

22.3 

4.0 

------ 

2.2 


22.3 


No. 2. Osceola 






5.9 


No. 3. North Kearsarge 






11.2 


No. 4. South Kearsarge 






52.2 
86.9 
11.6 
16.0 
.4 
.4 




No. 5. Isle Royale 


0.3 


0.4 


2.0 


No. 6. AhmfiP.k- 


20.0 


No. 7. Tamarack 






11.4 


No. 8. Allouez 






9.8 


No. 9. Superior 






7.8 


No. 10. Centennial 








No. 11. La Salle 










No. 12. Laurium 






































Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


1,578.2 


3.48 


.3 


• 4 


218.1 


851.9 


282.4 


134.5 


90.4 


No. 13 


251.2 
187.8 
355.1 
624.6 
227.1 
107.1 
94.0 
89.1 


2.74 
2.67 
2.65 
2.78 
2.90 
2.75 
2.63 
2.85 






220.2 

183.9 

327.0 

580.6 

168.7 

99.7 

11.6 

70.7 


29.0 
3.9 
22.6 
40.1 
36.1 
5.6 
11.9 
16.0 


2.0 






No. 14. . 










No. 15 


1.3 


1.7 


2.5 
3.9 
11.5 
1.9 
4.0 
2.2 







No. 16. 






No. 17 




1.0 


8.9 


.9 


No. 18 




No. 19 




66.5 






No. 20 


.1 




No. 21 








No. 22.. 


52.3 

46.3 

8.1 

40.3 


2.45 
2.61 
2.59 
2.50 




12.9 


39.4 

46.3 

8.1 

22.6 








No. 23. 








No. 24. 












No. 25. 




15.7 


2.0 












Total, Nos. 13 to 25 


2,083.0 


2.73 


1.3 


97.8 


1, 778. 2 


167.2 


28.0 


9.0 


.9 


Total, all companies . . . 


3,661.2 


3.06 


1.6 


98.2 


1,996.9 


1,019.1 


310.4 


143.5 


91.3 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



17 



Average earnings per day or shift and average number and per cent of miners earning each 
classified amount per day or shift in May, 1913 — Concluded. 



PER CENT. 





Aver- 


Aver- 
age 


Miners earning each classified amount per day or shift. 


Mining company. 


age earn- 

num- ings 

ber of per 

miners, day or 

j shift. 


Under 
$2. 


$2 and 
under 
$2.50. 


$ a 2 n 5 d ° S3 and 


$3.50 

and 

under 

$4. 


$4 and 
under 
$4.50. 


$4.50 
and 
over. 




719. 3 $3. 54 






6.5 53.5 
6.2 1 70.7 


26.9 
8.5 
15.4 
4.9 
4.9 
17.4 
12.4 
12.7 
4.1 
10.0 


10.0 
5.6 


3.1 


No. 2. Osceola 


65.9 3.45 

98.8 3.69 
79.4 3.06 

197.3 3.15 
139.2 , 3.72 
108.8 ' 3.39 
91.0 3.57 
46.6 3.68 

31.9 3.40 






9.0 


No. 3. North Kearsarge 

No. 4. South Kearsarge 

No. 5. Isle Royale 








57.7 
24.3 


15.5 11.3 






65.7 


4.9 ! 


0.2 


0.2 


44.0 '< 45.6 
8.3 43.9 

14.7; 58.6 
.4 76.2 
. 9 72. fi 


4.2 1.0 


No 6. Ahmeek 


16.0 14.4 








3.6 10.5 


No. 8. Allouez 






! 10.8 








5.8 16.7 










82.8 


6.9 


No. 11. La Salle 










No. 12. Laurium 


i 




:::::::::;:; 











i 




Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


1,578.2 


3.48 


0) 


(i) 13.8 | 54.0 


17.9 


8.5 1 5.7 


No. 13 


251.2 
187.8 


2.74 
2.67 
2.65 
2.78 
2.70 
2.75 
2.63 
2.85 






87.7 
97.9 
92.1 
93.0 
74.3 
93.1 
12.3 
79.3 


11.5 
2.1 
6.4 
6.4 

15.9 
5.2 

12.7 

18.0 


.8 




No. 14 








No. 15 


355.1 
624.6 
227.1 
107.1 
94.0 
89.1 


.4 


.5 


.7 

.6 

5.1 




No. 16 




No.17 




.4 


3.9 


.4 


No. 18 


1.8 

4.3 






No. 19 




70.7 






No. 20 


2.5 


.1 




No. 21 








No. 22 1 52. 3 


2.45 
2.61 
2.59 
2.50 






24.7 7*3 










No. 23 ! 46. 3 




100.0 
100.0 
56.1 








No. 24 8.1 












No. 25 40. 3 




39.0 


5.0 






Total, Nos. 13 to 25.... 
Total, all companies . . . 










2,083.0 


2.73 


.1 


4.7 85.4 


8.0 


1.3 


.4 | (i) 


3,661.2 


3.06 


C 1 ) 


2.7 54.5 


27. S 


8.5 


3.9 2.5 



1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent 

As appears by the second part of the table, 54 per cent of the 
miners in the mines of the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies 
earned from S3 to S3. 50 per shift, and 85.4 per cent of the miners in 
the mines of the other companies earned from S2.50 to S3 per shift. 
The average rate per shift for miners was S3. 48 in the mines of the 
Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies and $2.73 in the mines 
of the other companies. It should be understood, however, that 
the rate per shift was found by dividing the monthly rates or earn- 
ings by 25 in the case of the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary com- 
panies and by 27 in the case of the other companies. As previously 
explained, the division is made by 25 for the former companies and 
by 27 for the latter companies because May was a month of 31 days. 
In a month of 30 days the division is made by 24 and 26, respectively. 

To reduce the average shift rate of miners for the Calumet & Hecla 
and subsidiary companies to the same basis as the average rate for 
the other companies the average rate of the former, $3.48, must be 
multiplied by 25 and divided by 27. This results in S3. 22 as com- 
pared with the average shift rate of the other companies than the 
Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary companies, which is $2.73, figured 
on the 27 shift a month basis. 

S. Doc. 381, 62-3 2 



18 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



Following is a table relating to trammers, similar in form to that 
relating to miners : 

Average earnings per day or shift and average number and per cent of trammers earning 
each classified amount per day or shift in May, 1913. 

AVERAGE NUMBER. 





Aver- 
age 
number 
of 
tram- 
mers. 


Aver- 
age 
earn- 
ings 
per day 
or shift. 


Trammers earning each classified amount per day 


or shift. 


Mining company. 


Under : $2 a * d 
co - under 

w - S2.50. 


$2.50 
and 

under 
S3. 


S3 and 
under 
$3.50. 


S3.50 
and 

under 
$4. 


$4 and 
under 
$4.50. 


$4.50 
and 
over. 


No. 1. Calumet & Hecla 

No. 2. Osceola 


502.8 
64.6 

150.6 
99.9 

127.8 

120.1 
75.7 

104.7 
29.6 
23.9 


S3. 08 
2.54 


0.2 31.5 


240.3 
64.6 

150.6 
99.9 

127.8 
75.1 
75.7 
89.7 
8.3 
17.2 


115.7 


100.8 


14.1 


0.1 


No. 3. North Kearsarge 


2.54 


::::::::l""-"" 










No. 4. South Kearsarge 


2.54 
2.55 
2.93 
2.81 
2.68 
3.17 
2.76 

























No. 6. Ahmeek 




.3 


24.7 


15.4 


1.1 


3.6 












15.0 
17.5 
6.1 












.2 


3.6 

.6 












No. 11. La Salle 


















































Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


1,299.7 


2.83 


.2 


32.0 


949.2 


179.0 


120.4 


15.2 


3.7 


No. 13 


134.0 
68.6 
140.0 
174.0 
133.9 
80,3 
59.0 
72.7 


2.31 i 

2.33 -.- 


134.0 

68.6 

140.0 

5.2 

2.7 

5.0 

55. 7 

72.7 










No. 14 










No. 15. 


2.31 
2.53 
2.53 

2. 4S 












No. 16. . 




168.8 

131.2 

75.3 

3.3 








No. 17. 









No. 18. . 










No. 19. . 


2.38 








No. 20 


2.38 










No. 21. . 










No. 22.... 


51.9 

23.6 

2.2 

72.7 


2.30 

2.23 


51.9 
23.6 









No. 23 








No. 24 


2.62 
2.29 




2.2 
.3 







No. 2.5 


1 72.4 
















Total, Nos. 13 to 25 


1,012.9 


2.40 ; 


631.8 


381.1 












Total, all companies . . . 


2,312.6 


2.64 ! .2 


663.8 


1,330.3 


179.0 120.4 


15.2 


3.7 



PER CENT. 



No. 1. Calumet & Hecla 


502.8 
64.6 

150.6 
99.9 

127.8 

120.1 
75.7 

104.7 
29.6 
23.9 


$3.08 
2.54 
2.54 


C 1 ) 6.3 


47.8 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
62.5 
100.0 
85.7 
28.0 
72.0 


23.0 


20.0 2.8 


( l ) 


No. 3. North Kearsarge 

No. 4. South Kearsarge 










2.54 












2.55 
2.93 
2.81 
2.68 
3.17 
2.76 












No. 6. Ahmeek 




.2 


20.6 


12.8 ! .9 


3.0 








14.3 

59.1 

25.5 








No. 9. Superior 




• 7 


12.2 
2.5 










No. 11. La Salle 










































Total, Nos. 1 to 12 


1,299.7 


2.83 


(i) 2.3 


73.0 


13.8 


9.3 


1.2 


.3 


No. 13 


134.0 
68.6 
140.0 
174.0 
133.9 
80.3 
59.0 
72.7 


2.31 


inn.n 












No. 14... 


2.33 100.0 

2.31 i 100.0 

2.53 3.0 

2.53 2.0 

2.48 1 | 6.2 

2.38 94.4 

2.38 ! 100.0 












No. 15... 












No. 16 


97.0 

98.0 

93.8 

5.6 










No. 17 










No. 18 










No. 19. 










No. 20.. 










No. 21 












No. 22 


51.9 
23.6 
2.2 

72.7 


2.30 100.0 

2.23 inn.n 












No. 23 ... . 












No. 24 


2.62 
2.29 




100.0 

.4 










No. 25 


OQ.fi 






















Total, Nos. 13 to 25 


1,012.9 


2.40 ; 


62.4 


37.6 



















Total, all companies . . . 


2,312.6 


2.64 


C 1 ) 


28.7 


57.5 


7.7 


5.2 


.7| .2 



1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. 



MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTBICT STBIKE. 



19 



As appears by the second part of this table, 73 per cent of the 
trammers in the mines of the Calumet & Hecla and subsidiary com- 
panies earned from $2.50 to $3 per shift and 62.4 per cent of the 
trammers in the mines of the other companies earned from $2 to $2.50 
per shift. 

The average rate per shift of the. trammers employed by the Calu- 
met & Hecla and subsidiary companies appears as $2.83, and the 
average of trammers employed by other companies appears as $2.40, 
and both averages are figured on the same basis, that is, by dividing 
the monthly wages of ''company account" trammers by 27 and 
dividing the earnings of contract trammers for the month by the 
number of shifts that they actually worked. 

During the strike many mine workers brought to the headquarters 
of the Western Federation of Labor their " dockets" or pay tickets, 
which showed how much they had earned during certain months, 
how much were the deductions, and how much was the net pay they 
received. These tickets were exhibited to prove that the earnings of 
mine workers were very low, and many of them were published in the 
Miners' Bulletin, a triweekly paper issued by the federation. Each 
docket showed the name of the employee to whom it belonged, the 
company for which he worked, and the number of shifts for which he 
was paid, but did not show his occupation, and in some cases did not 
give details about the deductions. An agent of the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics requested Guy E. Miller, editor of the Miners' Bulletin, to 
lend him some of the tickets in order that he might compare them with 
the pay rolls. He requested Mr. Miller to pick out some of the lowest 
of the tickets, and those that the latter selected were compared with 
the pay rolls at the various mine offices. The facts shown by the 
tickets supplemented by the facts shown by the pay rolls are pre- 
sented in the following table and explanatory footnotes : 



Name. 



Calumet & l^eclamine: 
Paul Blomster 



Osceola mine: 
John James . 



Occupation. 



Section laborer, 
surface. 

Loose inspector.. 



Matt Crovatich | Dryman 3 . 



Dominic Bruno . 

North Kearsarge mine: 

Frank Isaacson. . . 

John James 

Do 

Michael Somers . . . 

Louis Yuhias 

John Rigo 



Trammer. 



R ollerman 

Timberman...... 

Tracklayer 

Contract miner. . 

Trammer 

Laborer, surface. 



Month. 



Shifts 
worked. 



Earn- 
ings. 



Julv, 1913 



June. 1913 

Jan., 1913 

July, 1913 

Mar., 1913 

July, 1912 | 

...do 

Jan., 1912 ; 

July, 1913 J 

June, 1913 



10 



$32.00 



>Sr ! amount 
tlons - received. 



24 


63.69 


07 


50.88 





14.42 


23 


56. 62 


HI 


32.35 


16? 


38.00 


21 


35.64 


18 


46.80 


24 


45.69 



$4.00 



2.50 
4 5.50 
55.00 



-1.10 

81.00 

9 6.50 

"6.00 

2.50 



$28.00 



63.19 
45.38 
6 9.42 



69.35 

10 29.14 
40.80 
45. 19 



' Physician and aid fund, $1; pasture for 3 cows, $3: one free, others $1.50 per month. 

2 Physician and aid fund, $0.50. 

3 A cripple and practically a pensioner. 

* Physician and aid fund, $1; rent, $4; water, $0.50. 

5 Physician and aid fund, $1; rent and water, $4. 

6 Also drew $14 from aid fund during month on account of sickness. 
"' Physician and aid fund, $1; supplies, $0.10. 

8 Physician and aid fund, $1. 

9 Physician and aid fund, $1.50; land lease for one year, $5. 

10 On referring to pay roll it was found that these earnings were much smaller than during other months 
in 1912. During the whole year Somers worked 301 shifts and earned $1,061.92, an Ifverage of $3.53 per shift. 
The deductions that were made from his earnings during the vear were: $16 for physician and aid fund; 
$26 for wife in hospital; $0.80 for supplies; $33.65 for coal; total $54.45. Fractured 'leg in January, -1913, 
and drew maximum amount provided by the State compensation law. 

11 Physician and aid fund, $1: coal. %h. 



20 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



Name. 



Occupation. 



Month. 



South Kearsarge mine: 

Gus Warmanen 

Imri Kulik 

Do 

Proska Sefetsen 

Do 

Do 

Do ! Laborer 

Do } do.. 

Do i do. 

Do , do. 

Do do.. 

Do ! do.. 



Janitor ' . . 
Trammer. 
....do... 
....do... 
....do... 
....do... 



Dominic Bruno ; !&SS; 



Anton Krulitz 

Ah meek mine: 

John Gregorich 

Mike Miter 

Allouez mine: 

Bozo Kasanovich. . 
Do 

Herman Lukkonen . 



I Trammer . 
1 Laborer. 



June, 1913 
Feb., 1913 
Mar., 1913 
Aug. 1912 
Sept., 1912 
Oct., 1912 

do 

Nov., 1912 
Dec., 1912 
Jan., 1913 
Feb., 1913 
Apr., 1913 
Nov., 1912 

....do 

Feb., 1913 
do 



Trammer. 
do.... 



Do. 

Do. 

Matbew 

Do. 
Do. 



Alio. 



Trammer, contract 

do : 

Miners' helper. : 
contract. !<> 

do 

/....do 

\Timberman 

Miners' helper , 
contract. 

do 

Miners' helper. 
company ac- 
count. 
Superior mine: 

Joseph Allen Lanier. Rockhouse 

La Salle mine: 

B Geo. Brozovich Laborer , surface. . . 

Wolverine mine: 

Anseln Dimonen Drill boy I0 i 

Uno Lehto Mucker." under- 
ground. 
Waino Lehto Laborer, under- 
ground. 

John Lukajawie Miners' helper ">. . . 

Henry Lukajawie Mucker 

{Laborer, under- 
ground. 
Stemmer 

Paul Musso Laborer, Rock- 

house. 
Israel Harris Laborer, under- 
ground. 
Do Stemmer 



Mav, 1913 
Nov., 1910 

Nov., 1912 
Feb., 1912 
Apr . 1912 

June, 1912 
July, 1912 
do 

Nov., 1912 

Feb., 1913 
Mar.. 1913 



May, 1913 

July, 1913 

Mar., 1913 

May, 1913 

June, 1913 

May. 1913 
do 



Julv, 1913 



Mar., 1913 
....do 



Shifts 


Earn- 


worked. 


ings. 


24* 


$45. 13 


19| 


50.07 


•24 


60.71 


20 


50.35 


25 


63.45 


16 


40.60 


5 


10.55 


20 


42.30 


11 


23.70 


25 


52.88 


9 


19.05 


20 


42.31 


26 


59.00 


24 


5.70 


17 


43.15 


2* 


5.29 


25 


63.45 


21 


48.45 


23 


58.49 


17 


39; 25 


25 


47.87 


25 


43.25 


25 


12 43. 25 


1 


2.40 


25i 


46.55 


16 


34.33 


m 


46.95 


26 


53.00 


22 


44.00 


13 


17.50 


14 


26.90 


8 


17.55 


27 


41.55 


25 


54.80 


9 


19.75 


1 


2.70 


17 


38.60 


IS 


39.45 


6 


16.15 



Deduc- 
tions. 



Net 
amount 
received. 



2 $0.50 
3 9.00 
3 9.00 
*1.50 
*.65 

5.65 

2.50 
2.50 
2.50 
2.50 
2.50 

61.00 
2.50 

2.50 
7 6.50 

6 1.00 
6 1.00 

«1.00 

61.00 
61.00 

"3.65 

15 15.11 
6 1.00 



2.50 

16 1.50 

2.50 
2.50 

61.00 

2.50 

6 1.00 

2 .50 

19 15. 15 

20 55. 60 



$44.03 
41.07 
51.71 
48 85 
62.80 

50.50 

41.80 
23.20 
52.38 
18.55 
41.81 

63. 70 
47.94 



62.95 
M1.95 

57.49 

9 38.25 

46.87 

H42.25 

13 44.65 

42.90 

19.22 

45. 95 



.52.50 
52.50 



17.00 
26.40 



1M6.55 



41.05 
53.80 



18 21.95 
23.45 



1 A cripple and practically a pensioner. 

2 Physician and aid fund '$0.50. 

3 Physician and aid fund, $1: rent for boarding house, $8. 
* Physician and aid fund, $1; supplies, $0.50. 

6 Physician and aid fund, $0.50; supplies, $0.15. 

6 Physician and aid fund $1. 

7 Physician and aid fund, $1.50; coal, $5. 

8 The pay roll shows that this man worked 150 shifts as a contract miner from January to July, inclusive, 
1913; earnings, $488.50: average per shift, $3.26; deductions, phvsician and aid fimd, $7; 3 tons of coal, 
$15; lamp, $0.50; total deductions, $22.50. 

9 During the months of March, April, May, and June, 1913, this man worked 72£ shifts as a contract tram- 
mer and earned $150.24. As his earnings each month were less than those paid trammers on company ac- 
count, he was paid at companv account rate, a total of $184.05, instead of his actual earnings. 

10 Boy. 

" Paid company account rate; contract not finished. 

12 Paid company account rate; actually earned $28.75 on contract. 

13 During the last 5 months of 1912 this employee worked 122£ shifts as a miner's helper and earned $290.43. 

14 Physician and aid fund, $1; overpaid in October, $2.65. 

1 5 Physician and aid fund, $1; overpaid in January, $14.11. 

16 Physician and aid fund, $1.50. 

17 Also received $17 sick benefits from aid fund during month, 
is Also received $7 sick benefits from aid fund during month. 

isphysician and aid fund, $1; supplies: Building material for home owned by employee, $14.15. 
2° Physician and aid fund, $1; ground rent for year, $5; assigned to grocery store, $49".60. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 21 

In each case the table shows the occupation of the employee, and 
the footnotes explain the deductions. 

As there has been a shortage of labor in the Michigan copper dis- 
trict for several years, the mine workers have steady work the vear 
round. In copper mining there is no season of shortened production, 
as during some months in coal mining. The only general holidays 
in the Michigan district are New Year, July 4, election day, and 
Christmas. Miners work only half a day on Saturday, but other 
mine workers work Saturday or Saturday nights, but two hours less 
than on other days. Counting Saturdays as workdays, the number 
of days the various mines were operated in 1912 was as follows' 
Tamarack, 311; Lake and Houghton, 310; Calumet & Hecla, 
Ahmeek, Allouez, Centennial, Superior, Osceola, North Kearsarge, 
South Kearsarge, Laurium, Oneco, Quincy, Hancock, and Winona, 
309; Isle Royale, 308^; Copper Range, 30S; Mohawk and Wolverine, 
307; Mass, 306; Franklin, 256 (idle in January and July). 

The average number of days that copper mines in the United States 
were operated during 1911 was 308; x the average number of days 
that coal mines in the United States were operated during the same 
year was 220. 2 

HOURS OF LABOR. 

In the Michigan copper range the nominal hours of labor for under- 
ground workers are 10, or from 7 o'clock in the morning until 5 o'clock 
in the afternoon, and for the night shift from 7 p. m. to 5 a. m., not 
including 1 hour allowed for luncheon. According to this nominal 
schedule, an underground man leaves the surface at 7 o'clock and 
returns to the surface at 5 o'clock; that is, he is underground 10 
hours, including the luncheon hour and the time required to descend 
into the shaft and to ascend to the top. But the man cages in which 
men are conveyed have a very limited capacity. Only one man cage 
in the district has a capacity for 40 men, and the others have a capac- 
ity for only 30 or less. Hence, there is much delay in carrying men 
down and in bringing them up, and in most mines the men are usually 
underground 10 hours and 30 minutes, and the mine workers claim 
not infrequently 11 hours. According to a statement of the Calumet 
& Hecla Mining Co., its underground men are underground 10 
hours and 30 minutes, and some other companies report 10 hours 
and 20 minutes. Each of the companies was requested to answer 
the following inquiries : 

Number of hours in each shift? 

Does this time include the time allowed for going from the surface to the working 
place and returning? How much time is required each way? 

Does this include time allowed for eating luncheon? If so, how much time? 

The replies of the companies follow: 

CALUMET & HECLA MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10 hours and 30 minutes, including one 
hour for luncheon, except Saturday, when the number of hours 
for miners is 5 hours and 45 minutes, and for trammers and tim- 

1 Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States during the Calendar Year 1911, by Albert H. Fay. Tech" 
nical Paper 40, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, p. 21. 

2 The Production of Coal in 1912, by Edward W. Parker. Bulletin, TJ. S. Geological Survey, p. 37. 



22 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

bermen 8 hours and 15 minutes. This includes the time allowed 
for going from the surface to the working place and returning. In 
the case of the Conglomerate mine, where all of the blasting is of 
necessity done at one time, viz, at the end of the shift, and where 
the depths are so great that it takes considerable time to hoist a 
cage load of 30 men, the time required in going down to work, wait- 
ing for the cage, and returning to the surface is approximately 
1 hour and 45 minutes. 

OSCEOLA CONSOLIDATED MIXING CO. 

Trne hours per shift are not over 10 hours and 30 minutes — gener- 
ally 15 or 20 minutes less. This includes ordinarily one hour for 
luncheon. On Saturday the day-shift miners are in the mine until 
noon — just five hours; the night-shift miners do not work at all; 
trammers, timbermen, etc., are in the mine eight or eight and one- 
half hours on Saturday. This includes the time allowed for going 
from the surface to the working place and returning. From the 
surface to the working place consumes 15 to 30 minutes, depending 
on the depth of the shaft and the distance from the shaft to the work- 
ing place. From the time the men quit working to the time they 
reach the surface at the end of the shift consumes from 25 to 6*6 
minutes. 

ISLE ROYALE COPPER CO. 

Miners average 9 hours and 48 minutes per shift ; trammers, timber- 
men, and other underground labor, 9 hours and 55 minutes per shift. 
This includes 1 hour for luncheon and the time allowed for going 
from the surface to the working place and returning, which averages 
from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the distance. Surface time aver- 
ages 9 hours and 40 minutes per shift, not including 1 hour for lunch- 
eon, except on Saturday, when the working time is 8 hours. 

AHMEEK MINING CO. 

All underground employees' weekday shifts, except on Saturday, 
are 10 hours and 15 minutes, including 1 hour for luncheon, and 
including the time required for going and returning from the place of 
work to the surface, about 8 minutes each way. The Saturday shift 
for miners is 5 hours; for trammers, 8 hours and 15 minutes. 

TAMARACK MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10 hours and 15 minutes, out of which 1 
hour is allowed for dinner. This covers the time from leaving the 
collar of the shaft to go down into the mine until the return to the 
collar at the end of the shift. About one-half hour is consumed in 
going from the collar of the shaft to the working place and the same 
in returning from work. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 23 

ALLOUEZ MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10 hours and 20 minutes, except on Saturday. 
This includes 1 hour allowed for dinner and the time allowed for going 
from the surface to the working place and returning, which varies 
considerably, depending upon the distance of the working place from 
the shaft, from 10 to 20 minutes each way. Men on first trip down 
take the first car up. On Saturday the first trip of the day shift goes 
down at 6.45 a. m., and the miners are up at 12.10 p. m., and the 
trammers, timbermen, etc., at 3.30 p. m. On Saturday night shift no 
miners work; trammers go down at 3.35 p. m. and are up at 11.15 p.m. 

SUPERIOR COPPER CO. 

Men are underground about 10 hours and 20 minutes, 1 hour being 
allowed for dinner. This includes the time allowed for going from 
the surface to the working place and returning, about 10 minutes 
each way. 

CENTENNIAL COPPER MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10 hours and 20 minutes, except on Satur- 
day. This includes 1 hour allowed for dinner, and the time allowed 
for going from the surface to the working place and returning, which 
varies considerably, depending upon the distance of the working place 
from the shaft, from 10 to 20 minutes each way. Men on first trip 
down take the first car up. On Saturday the first trip of the day shift 
goes down at 6.30 to 6.45 a. m., and the miners are up at 12.10 p. m. 
and the trammers, timbermen, etc., at 3.30 p. m. On Saturday night 
shift no miners work; trammers go down at 3.35 p. m. and are up at 
11.30 p. m. 

LA SALLE COPPER CO. 

The hours per shift are 10, except on Saturday. This includes the 
time allowed for going from the surface to the working place and 
returning, about 10 minutes each way. This also includes one hour 
for luncheon. Men are brought to the surface for luncheon. 

LAURIUM MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10, except on Saturday. This includes the 
time allowed for going from the surface to the working place and 
returning, about 10 minutes each way. This also includes one hour 
for luncheon. Men are brought to the surface for luncheon. 

WINONA COPPER CO. 

The nominal underground shift is nine hours, not including one 
hour allowed for luncheon, but including most of the time required 
for going from the surface to the working place and returning. Only 
about 15 minutes is required to hoist and lower all employees each 
war. 



24 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

HOUGHTON COPPER CO. 

The nominal underground shift is nine hours, not including one 
hour allowed for luncheon, but including most of the time required 
for going from the surface to the working place and returning. Only 
about 15 minutes is required to hoist and lower all employees each 
way. 

MASS CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

The shifts are nine hours, excluding one hour for luncheon, but 
including time for going from the surface to the working place and 
returning, about 15 minutes each way. 

COPPER RANGE CONSOLIDATED CO. 

For the first five days of the week all men start underground at 
7 a. m. and start up at 4.45 p. m., having one hour at noon for lunch- 
eon. From 15 to 20 minutes are required to descend and ascend. 
Men sent down first are taken up first. On Saturdays miners start 
down at 7 a. m. and start up at 11.45 a. m. Other underground men 
start down at 7 a. m. and up at 3 p.m., at which time the night shift 
trammers and laborers start down, and they begin coming up at 
10.45 p. m. 

QUINCY MINING CO. 

Men are underground about nine hours. This includes one hour 
allowed for luncheon, and includes the time required for going from 
the surface to the working place and returning, about one-half hour 
each way. 

HANCOCK CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

The shifts are nine hours. This includes one hour for luncheon and 
includes the time required for going from the surface to the working 
place and returning, about 10 minutes each way. 

ONECO COPPER MINING CO. 

The shifts are nine hours. This includes one hour for luncheon and 
includes the time required for going from the surface to the working 
place and returning, about five minutes each way. 

LAKE COPPER CO. 

Shifts are called 10 hours. This includes time allowed for luncheon, 
one hour for miners and half an hour for trammers, and includes the 
time required for going from the surface to the working place and 
returning. Any working place in the mine can be reached in 15 min- 
utes from the time a man leaves the surface. 

MOHAWK MINING CO, 

The hours per shift are 10, including one hour for luncheon and 
the time required for going from the surface to the working place 
and returning, from 15 to 30 minutes. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 25 

WOLVERINE COPPER MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are 10 hours and 30 minutes, including one 
hour for luncheon and the time required for going from the surface 
to the working place and returning, from 15 to 30 minutes. 

FRANEXIN MINING CO. 

The hours per shift are nine for underground work. This is exclu- 
sive of time allowed for luncheon, but includes the time required for 
going from the surface to the working place and returning, from 15 
to 30 minutes each way. 

The contracts of the Western Federation of Miners with the mining 
companies in Montana prescribe that the working time shall be eight 
and one-half hours per shift, including the time necessary to go down 
into the shaft and half an hour for luncheon, but the men return to the 
surface on their own time. As the mines in Montana are not nearly 
so deep as the older mines in Michigan, less time is required for going 
down or coming up in the former than in the latter. 

In a number of States there are laws which provide that the hours 
of labor of men working underground shall not exceed eight per day. 
The States that have enacted such laws, the years of enactment, and 
the general provisions of the statutes now in force are as follows: 
In Wyoming, 1890-91, 1909; Colorado, 1905, 1911: Utah, 1896: Mon- 
tana. 1905, 1907, 1911; Nevada, 1903; Idaho, 1907, the period of 
employment in underground work shall not exceed eight hours. 

California, 1909. — The period of employment in underground work 
shall not exceed eight hours exclusive of meal time. 

"Washington, 1909. — It is unlawful to cause any underground 
employee to remain at his place for more than 8 hours out of any 24, 
exclusive of half an hour for luncheon. 

Missouri, 1901 . — It is unlawful to work underground laborers more 
than 8 hours in 24. 

Oregon, 1907. — No person shall permit or require any person to 
work in any underground metal mines more than 8 out of 24 hours. 

Arizona, 1903, 1912. — The hours of labor of men employed in 
underground mines, workings, pit workings, and tunneling shall not 
exceed eight, including the time going to and returning from the 
place of work; that is, the time between leaving the surface and 
returning thereto shall not exceed 8 hours in any 24. 

Alaska, 1913. — The hours of labor of men working underground in 
mines shall not exceed eight, exclusive of descending or ascending 
time, or other time going to or returning from work. 

Pennsylvania. 1911. — No hoisting engineer in any anthracite mine 
shall be engaged longer than 8 out of 24 hours. 

Oklahoma, 1908. — Eight hours shall constitute a day's labor in 
underground workings. The United States Supreme Court has 
decided that a Federal statute similar in language to the Oklahoma 
law did not prevent the making of agreements for working longer 
than eight hours. 



26 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 

THE TRAMMING TROUBLE. 

For two years or more before the strike of 1913 there was a serious 
shortage of labor in the Michigan copper district. During this time 
the number of additional men that were needed was estimated at 
from 1,500 to 2,000. There was a greater shortage of trammers than 
of any other class of mine workers, and this shortage of trammers is 
a chronic condition. Usually about 29 per cent of the mine workers 
are miners, 21 per cent trammers, 28 per cent other underground 
workers, and 22 per cent surface workers. 

The unskilled work of trammers is much harder labor than the 
work of miners, and their pay is considerably lower, as will be seen by 
referring to the section of this report which relates to wages. In 
addition, trammers work longer hours per week than miners. For 
five days a week, Monday to Friday, on either day or night shift, the 
hours that miners and trammers are underground are nominally 10, 
including an hour allowed for luncheon, but this time is often stretched 
into 10§ or 11 hours. This lengthening of the time that men are 
underground is caused by inefficient means for lowering men into 
the mine and bringing them up. The man cages are too small. 
There is in all the mines only one cage that carries 40 men, and the 
others carry only 30 or less, usually less. 

The longer hours that trammers work are on Saturday, when the 
miners do not work a night shift and the day shift is only from 5 to 
b\ hours, but the trammers have both day and night shifts, each 
from 7 to 1\ hours. 

Before the strike began there was more dissatisfaction among the 
trammers than among any other class of mine workers. It is generally 
admitted, even by the mine managers, that the trammers have much 
the hardest work to do that is done in the mines. Two trammers 
have to load and push cars which weigh 1,200 to 3 000 pounds and 
which are loaded with from one and a half to two and a half tons of 
rock. Two men, or for the heavier loads three, push this weight of 
from 4,800 to 8,000 pounds over rough tracks hundreds of feet, often 
from 1,000 to 1,500 feet and sometimes farther, and do this many 
times a day. This is exhausting, muscle-straining, back-breaking- 
work, really work for beasts of burden or for mechanical motors. It 
is said that trammers break down physically in a few years, and there 
are no old men on this kind of work. Only the young and strong can 
stand it. 

Tramming is done mostly by the Finns, Croatians, Hungarians, 
Italians, and Poles. The work is so hard that Cornish men and other 
old miners will not touch it. Trammers, dissatisfied with their long 
hours, hard work, and low pay, hold on to their jobs hoping to be 
given jobs as miners, but the supply of miners is greater than that 
of trammers, and many trammers, after waiting in vain to be put to 
work on drilling machines, get disgusted and leave the mines. 

When work was resumed in some of the mines the chief difficulty 
was not in getting miners but in getting enough trammers, and in 
many cases miners that were loyal to the companies were required 
to do tramming in order that the mines could be operated at all. 



MICHIGAN" COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



27 



In very few of the mines in the Michigan copper district is any 
tramming done except by hand. In a few mines mechanical motors 
are used on some levels and in only one are mules used, and even in 
most of these mines there is much hand tramming. Some of the 
Michigan mine managers who have used mechanical motors admit 
that thereby the costs of tramming have been greatly reduced. Why 
all of them do not introduce mechanical motors in all mines is hard 
to understand, especially as there has been a constant cry about the 
scarcity of trammers in the copper district, and this scarcity has 
been greater during the two years preceding the strike than ever 
before. The only explanation that has been given is that it is im- 
practicable to use motors where mining is done at so many places in 
the same mine. But it seems practicable to concentrate the mining 
on a few levels at a time, instead of working on many levels simul- 
taneously, as is done in many of the Michigan mines. In mines in 
this district, as well as mines in other parts of the world, mining is 
concentrated on a few levels until they are worked out, and motors 
are used to great advantage. 

The following table, based on reports from the companies, shows 
in which mines motors are used, the number of trammers, the weight 
of the cars, and the weight of the load: 





Motors 
used. 


Trammers. 


Weight of 
tramcars 
empty. 


Tonnage capacity of 
tramcars. 


Mine. 


Number 

that load 

and push 

cars. 


Number 
that load 
cars only. 


Level 
full. 


Heaped, if 
required. 


Ahmeek: 

Tram 




112 




Pounds. 
1,575 
2,027 
2 1,575 
2,600 
1,900 
1,575 
2,600 
2,000 

1,890 
3,000 
2,500 
1,360 

2,500-3,000 
1,700 
1,700 
2,094 
1,317 
1,840 
1,890 
1,840 

2,000-3,100 
1,840 
1,900 
2,200 
2,600 
2,500 
1,185 


Tons. 
1.75 
2.5 
2.25 
2.7 
2.3 
2.1 
2.7 
2 

1.5 
2.5 
2.25 

<2 


Tons. 
2.3 


Mule 


(V) 

No 

( 3 ) 

Yes 

No 

xt (3) 
No 

No 

Yes 


8 


3 


Allouez 


105 

( 8 ) 

268 

24 

( 3 ) 

32 

17 




Baltic 


( 3 ) 
235 


3 


Calumet & Hecla 




Centennial 


2.25 


Champion 


( 3 ) 


3 


Franklin 




Hancock: 

Hand trammiag 




2 


Electric 


7 


3 




No 

No 

No 

No 


6 
128 
35 


3 


Isle Royale 






Lake 




2.5 


La Salle 




2.25 

2.25 

2 

1.75 

2.15 

1.5 

2.15 

2.5 

2.15 

2.25 

2.5 

2.7 

2.25 

1.8 


2.5 


Laurium 


No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

( 3 ) 

No 

No 

Yes 

XT (3) 

No 

No 


2 

57 

184 

151 

2 

65 

( 3 ) 

100 

30 

35 

( 3 ) 

76 

99 




2.5 


Mass 




2.5 


Mohawk 






North Kearsarge 




2.7 


Oneco 




2 


Osceola 




2.7 


Quincy 


( 3 ) 




South Kearsarge 


2.7 


Superior 






Tamarack 


41 

( 3 ) 


2 65 


Trimountain 


3 


Winona 


3 


Wolverine 












1 Mules used instead of motors. 

2 When fitted with door car weighs 1,665 pounds. 

3 Not reported, but motors are known to be used to some extent in some of these mines. 
< Average, 1.9 to 2.2. 



28 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Most of the tramcars used in Michigan copper mines are thoroughly 
antiquated. Most of them are old loose- wheel cars, the axles of which 
can not properly be kept supplied with grease. These cars also 
have their forward wheels but little in front of the middle of the cars. 
This arrangement facilitates dumping, but throws the load unevenly 
on the four wheels. The two forward wheels carry the greater part 
of the weight, and this makes these wheels bind on the tracks, espe- 
cially in going around sharp curves. The tracks in many Michigan 
mines, following the lode, have many sharp curves and should be 
straightened, even though no copper-bearing rock was dug in making 
the drifts straighter. 

Cars in a few of the mines have tight wheels; that is, the wheels 
are fixed on the axles, and the ends of the axles turn in brass boxes 
in which waste can be packed and the oil retained longer. These 
wheels and axles are like those on the truck of a railroad car, and are 
a great improvement on the old t3 7 pe of loose-wheel car. 

In one or two mines still better tramcar trucks are used. The 
axles of these cars are provided with roller bearings, which greatly 
diminish the labor of pushing them. The expense of equipping all 
mines with this type of car would not be great, as these trucks cost 
only $24 each. Both types of improved cars last described have 
their loads evenly distributed on the four wheels, as each pair of 
wheels is the same distance from the end of the car. Both of these 
types of cars are dumped by mechanical tipplers. 

THE ONE-MAN DRILL. 

One of the grievances of the miners was in regard to the introduc- 
tion of the one-man drill. This machine, invented by a man named 
Leyner, and called the water Leyner drill, was introduced in the 
various mines during 1907 and succeeding years, mostly in 1911 and 
1912. Before this machine was used, two men worked on each drill. 
Both men set up or took down the machine, one operated it, and the 
other, using a can, poured water in the hole as it was drilled. They 
alternated daily in this work, and their earnings were the same, 
either on a shift or on a contract basis. Compressed air piped from 
the surface furnished power for the machine. 

The water Leyner is mechanically an improvement on the old 
machine, because a man is not required to pour water in the hole 
that is drilled. Water is piped from the surface or from tanks in the 
mine, and under pressure is forced through a hole lengthwise in the 
drill to the cutting bit. Compressed air piped from the surface 
furnishes the power. After the machine is set up one man can easily 
operate it. 

Many of the miners object to the one-man drill because they con- 
sider the work of setting it up or taking it down too heavy for one 
man. The two-man drill weighs from 275 to 300 pounds and the one- 
man drill weighs from 135 to 150 pounds. The machines are sup- 
ported by tubular iron posts which are 3£, 4, or 4^ inches in diameter, 
4 to 10 feet long, and weigh from 12 to 20 pounds per foot. At the 
bottom of the post is a jackscrew which weighs from 75 to 100 
pounds, but which is usually detached when the position of the post 
is changed. The post and attachments for the one-man machine 
weigh practically the same as those for the two-man machine. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 29 

The drill is set up after every blast and taken down before every 
blast, which means that it is usually set up and taken down every 
day. The mining companies admit that setting up or taking down 
a one-man drill is heavy work for one man, but they insist that two 
men each working on one-man machines near each other can assist 
each other in this work. In many cases, however, men have not 
worked close enough together to assist each other. 

One objection raised against the one-man drill is that where a man 
works by himself he may be injured by a falling rock or other acci- 
dent, and perhaps rendered unconscious, so that he can not call for 
assistance, even if some other miner were near enough to hear his call. 
The mining companies claim that under the provisions of a new law 
men will hereafter work close enough together to render assistance 
to anyone that may be injured. This law, enacted by the Legisla- 
ture of Michigan, and approved May 7, 1913, provides that no employee 
in the copper or iron mines in the State ' ' shall be permitted or required 
to operate any power or machine drill at a distance of more than 150 
feet in the same drift, stope, opening, or working from w^here another 
person or persons are regularly and continuously employed. " Some 
of the miners, however, insist that there is danger of a man being so 
injured that he could not help himself and could not inform anyone 
of his injury, even one no farther than 150 feet away. 

While many miners object to the change from the two-man drill 
to the one-man drill, others who have become accustomed to the one- 
man drill prefer it for the reason that at most mines they earn more 
with the latter. All of the mining companies insist that the one- 
man drill is an economic necessity. By using the one-man drill the 
output per miner is largely increased and the mining companies give 
the miner the benefit of a part of the saving. A table prepared by 
the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. shows the number of tons of rock 
mined by miners employed by the company and its subsidiary com- 
panies using the one-man drill and the number of tons mined by 
such miners using the two-man drill during the calendar year 1912. 
According to this statement, the efficiency of miners was increased 
33.90 per cent in stoping, 90.60 per cent in drift stoping, and 91.08 
per cent in drifting; and the earnings of miners were increased 7.47 
per cent in stoping, 21.31 per cent in drift stoping, and 19.93 per 
cent in drifting. 1 

i These terms are explained under a section of the report headed "Underground conditions/' page 103. 



30 



MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 



The following table shows the average number of miners in May ; 
1913, that used each kind of drill, the monthly rates of miners "on 
company' account" that used each kind of drill, and whether miners 
have the option of using either kind, the data in this table having 
been furnished by the companies : 



Mine. 


Year 

1-man 

drills were 

introduced. 


Number of miners 
using— 


Monthly rate of 
miners — 


Have miners 
option of 

using either 
1-man or 

2-man drill? 


1-man 
drill 


2-man 
drill. 


On 1-man 
drill. 


On 2-man 
drill. 


Ahrneek 


1912 

1912 

1909, 1911 

1908 


157 
95 
104 

2 125 




$78.00 

78.00 

71.00-74.00 

78.00 
96.00 
78.00 
71.00-74.00 
( 3 ) 
68.00 
78.00 
78.50 
65.00 
78.00 
78.00 
65.00 
70.00 
78.00 


$69.00 
71.50 
68.00 

69.00 
84.00 
71.50 
68.00 
65.00 
68.00 


No. 1 


Allouez 




No. 1 


Baltic 


169 
2 694 


No. 


Calumet & Hecla: 


No. 


Conglomerate lode 


No. 




1912 
1909,1911 

1910 

1913 

1912 

1911 

1911 

1913 

1912 

1911 

1912 

1912 
( 6 ) 

1912 

1907 

1912 
1910,1911 

1913 
1909, 1911 

1912 

1913 


40 
108 
118 
14 
(*) 
132 
31 
0) 
0) 

75 

5 49 

84 




No. 1 




382 
26 
43 


No. 




Yes. 




Yes. 




No. 1 




85' 

17 


69.00 
60.00 

C 1 ) 

C 1 ) 
61.00 
70.00 
69.00 
68.00 
69.00 
79.30 
69.00 

73.00 
68.00 
67.50 
70.00 


No. 


Lake 


No. 


La Salle 


No.i 






No. 1 


Mass 


26 

198 

22 

13 


No. 


Mohawk 

North Kearsarge 


Xo. 








69 
278 
32 
63 
39 
98 

3 ; 


78.00 
85.80 
78.00 
78.50 
78.00 
71.00-74.00 
( 3 ) 
78.00 


No. 


Quincy 

South Kearsarge 

Superior 

Tamarack 

Trimountain 

Winona 


417 
54 


Yes 
Yes. 
No. 1 


125 
116 
124 
112 


Yes. 
No. 

Yes. 








1,755 


2,623 

















1 1-man drills used exclusively. 

2 In 1 mine; 2 mines are equipped exclusively with 1-man drills. 

3 No "company account;'-' miners working 1-man drills. 
* Not reported. 

' Not including 14 boys who assisted 48 miners. 
6 Xo 1-man drills used. 

Miners on contract work as well as those on company account or 
shift basis usually earn more using the one-man drill than they do 
using the two-man drill, especially after they have gotten used to 
the machine. 

Each company involved in the strike was requested to furnish 
statistics showing the earnings of miners (in each case the same 
individual) using the one-man drill and using the two-man drill, or 
comparative statistics showing the earnings of miners both before 
and after the one-man drill was introduced. In the following table 
the statements are summarized so as to show the average earnings 
per day of miners using one-man and two-man drills and per cent of 
increase in earnings resulting from the use of the one-man drill. 
Following the table the statements of the companies in regard to 
earnings with the one-man and two-man drills are reproduced in 
full. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 31 

Comparison of average earnings per day of miners using one-man and two-man drills. 



Mining company. 



No. 1: 

Calumet & Hecla Conglomerate. 

Calumet & Hecla Amygdaloid. . 

No. 2. Osceola 

No. 3. North Kearsarge 

No. 4. South Kearsarge 

No. 5. Isle Royale 

No. 6. Ahmeek 

No. 7. Tamarack 

No. S. Allouez 

No. 9. Superior 

No. 10. Centennial 

No. 11. La Salle 

No. 12. Laurium 

No. 13. Baltic 

No. 14. Trimountain 

No. 15. Champion 



No. 16. Quincy. 



No. 17. 
No. IS. 
No. 19. 
No. 20. 
No. 21. 
No. 22. 
No. 23. 
No. 24. 
No. 25. 



Mohawk... 
Wolverine. 
Franklin. . 
Winona . . . 
Houghton. 

Mass 

Hancock . . 

Oneco 

Lake 



Two-man 
drill. 



$3.65 
3.08 
13.00 
( 2 ) 

( ? 

12! 98 
3.24 

13.02 
( 2 ) 

12.71 
( 2 ) 

13.01 

12.71 
( 2 ) 
( 2 ) 



3.04 
3.10 



(*) 



2.80 
3.13 



:, 



2.35 
2.61 
2.61 
3.16 



One-man 
drill. 



$4. 02 
3.47 
13.58 
( 2 ) 
( 2 ) 

13.34 

13. 61 

3.83 

13.70 

3.55 

13.52 

3.98 

13.26 

3 3.23 

( 2 ) 

( 2 ) 

3.78 

4.08 

3.38 

3.47 

( 2 ) 

12.89 
3.45 
( 2 ) 
2.50 
2.61 
( 4 ) 
3.57 



Per cent of 
increase 
with one- 
man drill. 



1 Average for a period of 6 months. 

2 No statistics available. 



3 Average for a period of 3 months. 
* No one-man drills used. 



10.14 
12.66 
19.33 



24.16 
21.14 
18.21 
22.52 



29.89 



8.31 
19.19 



(- 



.-' 



24.34 
34. 21 
11.18 
11.94 

3.21 

10.22 

6.38 



18.98 



CALUMET & HECLA MINING CO. 

In the Conglomerate mine the average earnings of miners on two- 
man drill were $3.65; of miners on one-man drill, $4.02. In the 
Amygdaloid mine the average earnings of miners on two-man drill 
were $3.08; of miners on one-man drill, $3.47. 

OSCEOLA CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

All miners using the two-man drill during the last half of 1912 
earned $147,231.80 for 49,038 days, or $3,002 per day. All miners 
using the one-man drill during the first half of 1913 earned $62,326.93 
for 17,397 days, or $3,582 per day. The increase is 19.33 per cent in 
favor of miners using the one-man drill. 

ISLE ROYALE COPPER CO. 



The earnings of miners on the two-man drill during the last six 
mouths of 1912—34,031 days— were $91,693.43 ; average per day, $2.69 
for 26 days, $2.92 for 24 days (time actually worked) . The earnings 
of miners on the one-man drill during the first six months of 1913 — 
11,259 j days— were $37,598.75; average per day, $3.34. Per cent 
increase, 14.4. 



32 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTEICT STEIKE. 

AHMEEK MINING CO. 

The average earnings of miners stoping, drifting, and drift stoping 
with the two-man drill for the last six months of 1912 were $2.98 per 
day. The average earnings of miners stoping, drift stoping, and 
drifting with the one-man drill for the first six months of 1913 were 
$3.61 per dav. The per cent of increase in favor of the one-man drill 
is 21.14. 

TAMARACK MINING CO. 

The earnings of miners using the one-man drill 837 shifts were 
$3,205.11, an average of $3.83 per shift. The earnings of miners using 
the two-man drill 20,773 shifts were $67,269.55, an average of $3.24 
per shift. This shows 18.21 per cent increased earnings in favor of the 
one-man drill. 

ALLOUEZ MINING CO. 

The average earnings of miners using the two-man drill during the 
last six months of 1912 were $3.02 per day. The average earnings of 
miners using the one-man drill during the first six months of 1913 were 
$3.70 per day. 

SUPERIOR COPPER CO. 

In 1909 and 1910 when the two-man machine was used exclusively, 
$2.54 per shift was company-account pay. On the same shift basis 
with the one-man machine, company- account pay was $3.02, but 
due to the introduction of the contract system and gradual improve- 
ment of the one-man machines, the average of all miners using one- 
man machines exclusivelv was $3.55 per day for the first six months 
in 1913. 

CENTENNIAL COPPER MINING CO. 

The average earnings of miners using the two-man drill during the 
last six months of 1912 was $2.71. The average earnings of miners 
using the one-man drill during the first six months of 1913 was $3.52. 

LA SALLE COPPER CO. 

No statistics of comparative earnings on one-man and two-man 
drills are available. The average daily earnings for work done on 
one-man drill in 1913 were $3.98. 

LAURIUM MINING CO. 

The earnings of miners on two-man machine during the last six 
months of 1912 were $3.01 per day. The earnings of miners on 
one-man machine during the first six months of 1913 were $3.26 per 
day. 

COPPER RANGE CONSOLIDATED CO. 

In general it has been our custom to pay men working on a com- 
pany account basis with the Leyner drill $4 or $5 per month more 
than the company account rate on the two-man drill. Earnings on 
contract vary considerably even under uniform conditions, and it 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 33 

would be inaccurate to attribute all of the difference between earnings 
of men on Leyners now to the difference in machines. 

The pay rolls of the Baltic mine show the earnings of 12 miners 
during the six months from January to June, inclusive, 1912, when 
they were using two-man drills, and the earnings of the same 12 men 
during the three months, April, May, and June, 1913, when they were 
using one-man drills. The earnings for these men were as follows, 
the first figures in each case being the average for the first period and 
the second figures being the average for the second period : John Lasick, 
$2.79, S3. 15; Mike Lassick, $2.79, $3.15; Mike Muhvich, $2.54, $3.24; 
Herman Keraven, $2.61, $3.27; John Harmain en, $2.75, $3.37; John 
Poak, $2.73, $2.91 ; Joel Kaugas, $2.89, $2.94; Herman Kaugas, $2.69, 
$3.48; Charles Johnson, $2.75, $2.87; Appo Lvthenen, $2.42, $3.48; 
Carl Stark, $2.74, $3.48: John Kaisanen, $2.75, $3.48. 

QUINCY MINING CO. 

Men Nos. 3981, 3338, 3034, and 3040, in contract No. 12, using 
one-man machines in drifting and st oping work, over a period of six 
months, averaged $4.08 per day each; same men with two-man 
machine earned $3.04 each. Men Nos. 4223 and 4365, in contract 
No. 191, averaged $3.78 per day each for a period of six months; same 
men with double machine earned $3.04. Twenty-one men on stoping 
work averaged $3.38 per day each against $3.04 with double machine. 

MOHAWK MINING CO. 

The average earnings of Thomas Ellis, on a two-man machine 
prior to August, 1912, were $3.10 per day. The average earnings of 
the same man on a one-man machine from August, 1912, to June, 
1913, were $3.47 per day. 

WOLVERINE COPPER MINING CO. 

The one-man drill has not been in use a sufficient time to enable us 
to form a comparison. 

FRANKLIN MINING CO. 

Following are the average daily earnings of four miners using the 
two-man drill from July to December, inclusive, 1912, and the average 
daily earnings of the same men using the one-man drill during the 
next six months. The figures first given show the average for the 
first period and the second figures show the average for the last 
period: Peter Horwhat, $3.10, $3; Ben Horwhat, $3.10, $2.78; Mike 
Kochin, $2.49, $2.98; Ed Isojarvi, $2.50, $2.78. 

WINONA COPPER CO. 

For the first six months of 1912 Samuel Phillips and Benjamin 
Hocking were drifting on the thirteenth level, south, of No. 4 shaft. 
They used an Ingersoll-Kand 3J-inch two-man drill, and made an 
average of $3.13 per day during this time. These same men started 

S. Doc. 381, 62-3 3 



34 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

the first Leyiier one-man drill and used it in drifting at the same place. 
Their average wages for the last six months of 1912 were $3.45 per 
shift. The cost of miners' labor per foot of drifting with the two-man 
drill was $4.12 ; the cost of drifting with the one-man drill was $2.99. 

MASS CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

When two-man drills were used exclusively the wages were $2.25 
per man per shift, net. After the one-man drill was introduced, the 
wages of men on the few two-man drills in use were increased to $2.35, 
while the wages of men on one-man drills were established at $2.50 
per shift. A bonus system was introduced for work done by men 
using stopers, whereby men were paid a bonus for all drilling over 
and above an average of 50 feet per day of drilling per shift during the 
month. Under this system the highest wage earned has been $3.15 
per shift. 

HANCOCK CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

The monthly wages are $68 for miners on one-man drills, and the 
same for miners on two-man drills. 

ONE CO COPPER MINING CO. 

The wages of miners on two-man drills are $68 per month (26 work- 
ing days). No one-man drill used. 

LAKE COPPER CO. 

The daily average earnings of all miners doing drilting and cross- 
cutting on contract from May, 1911, till the strike was as follows: 
Men on large machines, $3.16 per day; men on small machines, $3.57 
per da v. 

DEDUCTIONS FROM EARNINGS. 

All companies make deductions from the earnings of miners on 
contract work for oil used to lubricate the drills, for dynamite, fuse 
and caps used in blasting, and for carbide used in acetylene lamps. 
Miners that work "on company account," or monthly basis, are not 
charged for these materials. 

One company charges the miner not only for these things, but for 
other articles that they use, the price for each being as follows : 

Powder (dynamite), $10 a box of 50 pounds; fuse, $10 per 1,000 
feet; caps, $2 a box of 100; steel (i. e. the weight of the drills worn 
by use), 10 cents a pound; machine oil, 25 cents a gallon; quart oil 
can, 35 cents; acetylene lamp, 75 cents; old-fashioned lamp, 25 
cents; wrenches, SI each. Trammers are charged for pick handles, 
25 cents each; for shovels, $1 each. This company also charges men 
50 cents a month for the use of the dry house, where the men change 
their clothing. 

All companies make a deduction from the earnings of employees 
for medical attention and medicines. The charge is $1 per month for 
married men and 50 cents for single men, and married men are entitled 
to medical treatment for dependent members of their families. The 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 35 

Mass Co. and Lake Co. are the only two that make additional charge 
for obstetrical cases. 

Most of the mining companies deduct 50 cents a month from the 
earnings of each employee for a sick-benefit fund, also called an "aid 
fund," and often called a "club." From this fund payment is made 
to employees who are ill at the rate of $1 for each working day, or $25 
per month. Usually payment begins on the sixth day of illness, but 
if the patient is ill for 20 days payment per day is made from the 
beginning of the illness. The Michigan State law provides that in 
case of accident to an employee at work he shall be paid compensa- 
tion after 14 days of disability. The employees of some companies 
who are injured by accident are paid SI for each working day, begin- 
ning with the sixth day of disability and continuing until compensa- 
tion begins on the fifteenth day. Out of the aid fund of several com- 
panies the heirs of an employee who dies from an accident are paid 
$200 or $250. The companies do not contribute to the aid funds, 
but on account of the large amounts in the aid-fund treasuries the 
Calumet & Hecla, Osceola, Ahmeek, and Isle Royale companies 
have made no deductions for this purpose since August, 1912. The 
only companies which reported that they had no aid funds were the 
Quinc}', Franklin, Hancock, and Oneco companies. 

The companies that have hospitals charge $7, $10, or $13 a week 
for hospital service, including board and the attention of a physician 
and nurse. Employees who are accidentally injured, so that hos- 
pital treatment is necessary, are not charged for the first three weeks 
they are in the hospital, as provided by the Michigan compensation 
law, but after three weeks the} 7 are charged at the rate of from $20 
to $40 a month. The Copper Range Co. reports: "Xo deductions 
made for hospital service to employees, whether required on account 
of disease or accident, but for members of an employee's family in 
the hospital $1 per day is collected." The Hancock and Oneco com- 
panies report: "Hospital care is provided gratis by company until 
employee's recovery. Same is true of members of employee's fam- 
ily." The Mass Co. reports: "Hospital expenses are provided until 
such time as patient is discharged by physician." The Quincy Co. 
reports: "Hospital expenses provided as" long as necessary." The 
Osceola Co. reports: "In frequent cases all hospital charges are can- 
celed by the company when the employee is in poor financial 
condition." 

Deductions from earnings are made on pay day for rent of houses 
occupied by employees, and for coal, wood, or electric lights that the 
company may furnish to them. 

THE WESTERN FEDERATION OF MINERS. 

The Western Federation of Miners is the only organization of mine 
workers in the metal mines of North America. It was organized at 
Butte, Mont., May 19, 1893. The preamble and first article of its 
constitution follow : 

PREAMBLE. 

1, We hold that there is a class struggle in society, and that this struggle is caused 
by economic conditions. 

2, We affirm the economic condition of the producer to be that he is exploited of 
the wealth which he produces, being allowed to retain barely sufficient for his ele- 
mentary necessities. 



36 MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 

3. We hold that the class struggle will continue until the producer is recognized as 
the sole master of his product. 

4. We assert that the working class, and it alone, can and must achieve its own 
emancipation. 

5. We hold, finally, that an industrial union and the concerted political action of 
all wage workers is the only method of attaining this end. 

6. Therefore we, the wage slaves employed in and around the mines, mills, smelters, 
tunnels, open pits, and open cuts have associated in the Western Federation of Miners . 

ARTICLE 1. 

Section 1. This organization shall be known as the Western Federation of Miners, 
and shall be composed of all persons working in and around mines, mills, smelters, 
tunnels, open pits, and open cuts organized into unions paying per capita tax to the 
federation. 

Sec 2. The objects of this organization shall be to unite the various persons working 
in and around the mines, mills, smelters, tunnels, open pits, and open cuts into one 
centra] body, to practice those virtues that adorn society and remind man of his duty 
to his fellow man, the elevation of his position, and the maintenance of the rights of 
the workers to increase the wages and improve the conditions of employment of our 
members by legislation, conciliation, joint agreements, or strikes. 

Sec 3. Whenever 20 or more persons working as specified in section 1 of this 
article shall be found that will be self-supporting, they shall, on application, be granted 
a charter. Provided that no charter shall be issued the effect of which is to segre- 
gate the crafts* engaged in the mining industry. 

Following is a copy of the blank which mine workers are required 
to sign on application for membership : 

Western Federation op Miners. 

APPLICATION BLANK. 

Union No 

Name 

Age Complexion 

Height Color of eyes 

Name and address of nearest relative 



Have you ever been a member of organized labor?. 
When and where? 



What organization? 

Where have you worked during the past five years?. 



Have you ever taken the place of strikers? 

Have you ever assisted in putting scab labor in the place of strikers? 

Have you ever assisted as a deputy sheriff, Pinkerton man, or in any manner assisted 
corporations or individuals to oppose the demands of organized labor? 

Our motto — " Justice to all." 

I hereby voluntarily pledge and obligate myself on my word of honor that the above 
is a true and correct statement in answer to the questions asked, and I further promise 
to obey all laws and lawful summons of the W. F. of M. that may be now or hereafter 
in existence. 

Applicant. 

Proposed by 

N. B. — Initiation fee must accompany application. 

Applicant Rejected 191 

Application made 191 Initiated 191 

Elected 191 Union No. . . . 

Secretary . 

N. B. — Secretaries receiving this blank from applicant must have same kept on 
file for future reference. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 37 

Statistics published in the Official Proceedings of the Twentieth 
Annual Convention, Western Federation of Miners, show that on 
March 31, 1912, the membership was SSjOlG. 1 The officials claim 
that in 1913 the membership was over 45,000. The official organ of 
the Western Federation of Miners is The Miners' Magazine, published 
weekly in Denver. Each issue contains a directory of the local unions 
of the organization. The issue for August 7, 1913, shows that the 
number of local unions was 180. The federation was established in 
22 States, and in each of these States and in Alaska, British Columbia, 
and Ontario, the number of local unions was as follows: 

Alaska, 6; Arizona, 11; British Columbia, 14; California, 10; 
Colorado, 18; Idaho, 8; Illinois, 3; Kansas, 6; Kentucky, 1; Mich- 
igan, 13; Minnesota, 1; Missouri, 16; Montana, 19; Nevada, 21; 
New Jersey, 4; New York, 1; New Mexico, 1; Oklahoma, 2; Ontario, 
8; Oregon, 1; South Dakota, 3: Texas, 1; Utah, 7; Washington, 3; 
Wisconsin, 2. 

The Western Federation of Miners was affiliated with the American 
Federation of Labor from 1896 to 1898, and the affiliation was re- 
newed in 1911. Further details about the history of the Western 
Federation of Miners are given in the following extract from the 
report of its president, Charles H. Mover, to the twentieth annual 
convention, held in 1912: 2 

The tenth annual convention of the Western Federation of Miners declared in favor 
of a policy of independent political action and a vigorous policy of education along 
the lines of political economy. Do sound industrial unionists desire to change this 
policy? If not, then I reiterate that the advocates of a change in our policy are not 
sincere, but that, while attacking our policy and offering nothing substantial to take 
its place, their sole aim is to again change our attitude in the labor movement. 

Going back to the inception of our federation, we find that we were organized in 
1893, and for three years, or until May, 1896, we were an independent organization — 
that is, we held no affiliation with any national organization of labor. In 1896 it 
was decided to change our attitude and affiliate with the American Federation of 
Labor. This affiliation continued until 1898, when we again changed our position 
by discontinuing such affiliation and attached ourselves to what was then known as the 
Western Labor Union. I shall not go into the history of the Western Labor Union ; 
suffice to say that our affiliation continued until its dissolution, in 1905, and that it 
was formed on the industrial-union plan. 

In 1905 our organization, in convention, realizing that the Western Labor Union 
had failed, took part in initiating another movement, known as the Industrial Workers 
of the World. While the working policy of this organization differed in some respects 
from the Western Labor Union, yet the idea of organizing the workers in industries 
was identical. The Western Federation of Miners continued to take an active part 
in the affairs of this organization until its second annual convention, when develop- 
ments in its management were such as to cause a, referendum vote to be initiated in 
our federation , which resulted in its repudiation, the membership declaring by their 
ballot that it should not longer be recognized as a bona fide labor organization; and so, 
in 1908, the Western Federation of Miners again changed its attitude, and was without 
affiliation until May 9, 1911, when it reaffiliated with the American Federation of 
Labor. 

During this entire period the miners' organization adhered strictly to its idea of 
industrial organization, yet during that time we, as stated, on seven different occa- 
eions changed our attitued in the labor movement. Has this been for the best interest 
of the men of the mines? Has our organization prospered because of these various 
changes? Have they been a medium for the organizing of the workers of our industry? 
Let us in all seriousness ask ourselves, and especially those who are loud in their 
denunciation of the present attitude of our union, whether it might not have been 
well for the metal miners to have adhered more strictly to a definite position, as has 
our sister organization, the United Mine Workers of America? 

» Page 173. * Pages 4-t3. 



38 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Between 1897 and 1899 there was organized in Michigan what was 
known as the Northern Mineral Mine Workers. It had local unions 
throughout the iron district of Michigan and the lead districts of 
Missouri, and was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.. 
It went through several strikes which were unsuccessful and reduced 
its membership to zero. In 1904 this organization applied to the 
Western Federation of Miners to become a part of that organization. 
The convention of the Western Federation of Miners held in 1904 
accepted the proposition, and took over such locals as had been 
established in Michigan and Missouri. 

Prior to 1904 the eastern boundary of the Western Federation of 
Miners was the Missouri Kiver. The Northern Mineral Mine Workers 
had no organization in the copper district of Michigan, but in the same 
year, after its amalgamation with the Western Federation of Miners, 
local unions were formed in practically all of the mining camps of 
Michigan and especially in the copper district. On account of lack 
of interest these locals became extinct in the latter part of 1906 or 
early in 1907. 

During 1908 communications were sent to the headquarters of the 
Western Federation of Miners in Denver, asking for organizer's to be 
sent to the iron and copper mining districts of Michigan. Organizers 
were sent and local unions were again organized. In 1913 there were 
five local unions in the Michigan copper district. The numbers of 
these unions, their names, and the dates when they were organized 
are as follows: 203, Copper (Calumet), November 22, 1908; 200, 
Hancock Copper, February 14, 1909; 196, South Range, Mav 22, 1909; 
215, Mass City, May 8, 1912; 129, Keweenaw, May 30, 1913. 

THE^ VOTE FOR A STRIKE. 

The Western Federation of Miners was never recognized by any 
of the copper-mining companies in Michigan. The members became 
dissatisfied with their working conditions and began in 1912 to agi- 
tate the question of making demands on the companies for improved 
conditions and of striking, if necessary, to secure the demands. Their 
organization, however, was not complete, and for prudential reasons 
the general officers of the federation in Denver endeavored to restrain 
them from hasty action. President Charles H. Moyer wrote from 
Denver to Thomas Strizich, a national organizer at Calumet, Mich., 
on March 25, 1913, as follows: 

I was much pleased to hear of the progress being made in the way of organizing in 
Michigan and sincerely trust that the men there will realize the importance, in fact 
the absolute necessity, of deferring action that may precipitate a conflict with the 
employers until they have practically a thorough organization. 

The organized copper-mine workers in Michigan insisted that their 
working conditions should be remedied, even if a resort to a strike 
should be necessary. The provisions in the constitution of the West- 
ern Federation of Miners for calling a strike, section 1 of Article VIII, 
is as follows: 

Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any union to enter upon a strike unless ordered 
by two-thirds of the votes cast upon the question; such questions shall be decided 
by referendum vote, notice of such referendum to be posted three days in advance, 
vote to be by ballot, and polls to be open for not less than eight hours. No call shall 
be made for a referendum vote on a strike until after having received the approval 
of the executive board of the Western Federation of Miners. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 39 

In June, 1913, slips were issued to all members of the five local 
unions of the Western Federation of Miners in the Michigan copper 
range, asking them to answer the following questions : 

Do you think the union should demand better conditions now? 
How many weeks could you support yourself without calling for relief? 
Are you a member of a building and loan association? What are your monthly pay- 
ments? 
If a strike vote is taken, will you put $5 in the union defense fund? 
Name. 

A large majority of the answers were in favor of making a demand 
for better working conditions immediately. The officers of the 
Western Federation of Miners in Denver were anxious that there 
should be no strike in the Michigan copper district until the mine 
workers should be more completely organized, and especially until 
more of the surface men and some of the stamp-mill and smelter men 
should be organized. They urged that it would be better not to strike 
until April, 1914, when it was expected that the membership would 
be much increased, and when there would be six months of good 
weather ahead. The mine workers, however, were so insistent that 
immediate measures should be taken to secure better conditions that 
the executive board of the Western Federation of Miners reluctantly 
consented to a referendum vote being taken on the question of asking 
for a joint conference with the employers, or of calling a strike in case 
a conference should be refused and no concessions granted. The 
executive board consisted of seven members — Charles H. Mover, 
president; C. E. Mahoney, vice president; Ernest Mills, secretary- 
treasurer; J. C. Lowney, Yanco Terzich, William Davidson, and Guy 
E. Miller. At the time that a referendum vote was approved, Presi- 
dent Moyer was in Europe, in attendance on an international labor 
congress. 

Printed ballot slips were issued by the president and secretary- 
treasurer of district 16, which was composed of the five local unions 
of the Western Federation of Miners in the Michigan copper range. 
The form of the ballot was as follows: 

OFFICIAL BALLOT. 

Following the instructions of the convention of the copper district union held on 
June 29, we hereby submit the following questions for referendum vote of the members 
of the local unions of the Western Federation of Miners in copper district of Michigan. 

C. E. Hietala, Secretary -Treasurer. 

Dan Sullivan, President. 

Shall the miners' unions, acting through the district union, ask for a conference with 
the employers to adjust wages, hours, and working conditions in the copper district 
of Michigan? 

YES a 

no a 

Shall the executive board of the copper district union, acting in conjunction with 
the executive board of the Western Federation of Miners, declare a strike if the mine 
operators refuse to grant a conference or concessions? 

YES □ 

no a 



40 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

The polls were opened on July 1 and remained open in the hall of 
each of the five local unions until noon July 12. Notice of the refer- 
endum was given out at the regular weekly meetings of the locals on 
Tuesday, and each local appointed men to visit members at the various 
mine locations and remind them that a vote was being taken. The 
referendum was also advertised in the papers printed in foreign lan- 
guages and published in the district. Announcement of the vote 
was not made in the three daily papers of Calumet, Houghton, and 
Hancock, as those papers are more or less indirectly controlled by 
the mining companies. Without doubt all members of the federa- 
tion in the district were informed that they had the opportunity of 
voting on the two questions. 

The statement of the federation officers is that 98 per cent of the 
votes cast were in the affirmative on each of the two questions pro- 
posed on the ballot. The federation officials claim that at the time 
of the strike, on July 23, 1913, there were nearly 9,000 members in 
the Rve local unions in the Michigan copper district. At some of the 
mines practically all of the workers, underground and on the surface, 
were members. At others, only the underground men and a few of 
the surface men were members. At the largest mines, however, 
those of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. and its subsidiary com- 
panies, where about two-thirds of all the mine workers in the district 
were employed, the number of members of the federation was much 
smaller in proportion to the total number of employees than at any 
other mines in the district. While definite figures are unobtainable, 
it is probable that not over half of the men employed underground 
by the Calumet & Hecla combination were members, and possibly 
the number did not exceed one- third, and of the men employed on 
surface work very few were members. 

The Calumet & Hecla Co. is much the largest mining corporation 
in the district. It has in its employ nearly all of the Cornishmen and 
Scotchmen that are engaged in mining in the district. Most of these 
English-speaking persons occupy favored positions, as mine "cap- 
tains " (i. e., foremen) and mine bosses. At all of its mines this com- 
pany pays its workers higher rates than are paid at any of the other 
mines. It is well known that all of the mining companies were 
strongly opposed to the Western Federation of Miners, though pre- 
vious to the strike no mine workers were discharged on account of 
their membership in that organization. The employees of the Cal- 
umet & Hecla Co. were better satisfied than were those of any other 
company, and therefore a much smaller proportion of them joined 
the federation. 

BEGINNING OF THE STRIKE. 

• 

Before 1913 there had been but few strikes in the Michigan copper 
district and no general strike that involved all of the mines. All of 
the mines have been operated on the open-shop principle. 

On July 14, 1913, the president and secretary-treasurer of district 16 
of the Western Federation of Miners sent a letter to each of the mine 
managers, which notified them that the organized mine workers 
desired to "sell their labor collectively," and requested that a joint 
conference be held to discuss wages, hours of labor, and other working 
conditions. It also notified the managers that unless the request 
were granted the mine workers were ordered by a referendum vote to 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 41 

strike. The letters to all managers were the same in form. A copy 
follows : 

Copper District Union, 
Western Federation of Miners, 

Box 217, Hancock, Mich., July 14, 1913. 
To the Calumet <Sc Eecla, Tamarack, Ahmeek, Allouez, Centennial, Superior, Laurium, 

Isle Royale, and all other copper mining companies connected with and under the man- 
agement of Calumet 6c Hexla; James MacNaughton, manager. 

Gentlemen: Your employees, organized into various unions of the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners, have decided by referendum vote to ask that you meet their repre- 
sentatives in conference on some day during this month for the purpose of discussing 
the possibilities of shortening the working day, raising wages, and making some 
changes in the working conditions. 

The men working in your mines are dissatisfied with the wages, hours, and other 
conditions of employment. Realizing that as individuals they would not have 
sufficient strength to correct these evils or to lessen the burden placed upon them, 
they have organized into the local unions of the Western Federation of Miners, and 
through the local unions they have formed one compact body of the whole copper 
district, with an understanding and hope that from now on they may be enabled to 
sell their labor collectively with greater advantage for themselves as well as their 
employers. 

While the men have decided that they must have greater remuneration for their 
services and that the working day must be shortened, it is not their or our desire 
that we should have a strike, with all the sufferings that it is bound to bring to them, 
to the employers, and to the general public. On the other hand, we earnestly hope 
that the questions that have arisen between us would be settled amicably, with 
fairness and justice to both sides. Should you have the same feeling, we believe 
that the friendly relations that have existed between you and your employees in the 
past will continue in the future. 

However, should you follow the example given by some of the most stupid and un- 
fair mine owners in the past, the men have instructed us by the same referendum vote 
to call a strike in all the mines owned and controlled by your company. 

We deem it unnecessary to set forth the facts and reasons for the demand for higher 
wages, shorter hours, and other things, in this letter, as we intend to do that in the 
conference — should you be fair enough to meet us. 

We hope you realize that labor has just as much right to organize as capital, and that 
at this age these two forces, labor and capital, while their interests are not identical, 
must get together and solve the problems that confront them. 

We expect to have your answer not later than on the 21st of this month. If you 
agree to meet us our representatives will be ready for a conference on any day and at 
any place you may choose; provided you do not set the date any later than the 28th of 
this month. 

Your failure to answer thi3 will be taken as a proof that you are not willing to meet 
us and to have the matters settled peacefully. 

Hoping to hear from you soon, we remain, 
Respectfully, yours, 

Dan Sullivan, 
President Copper District Union of the Western Federation of Miners. 

C. E. Hletala, 
Secretary Copper District Union of the Western Federation of Miners. 

Address all communications to C. E. Hietala, box 217, Hancock, Mich. 

It will be noticed that this letter did not mention a minimum 
wage, but a circular addressed by the president and secretary- 
treasurer of district 16 "To organized labor, its friends and sympa- 
thizers," and dated Hancock, Mich., August 15, 1913, said: 

On the 23d of July, 1913, the greatest strike in the history of American metal miners 
began in the copper district of Michigan. Fifteen thousand men in and around the 
mines laid down their tools, demanding recognition of the union, an eight-hour day, a 
minimum wage of $3 for all underground workers and engineers, with an increase of 
35 cents per day for surface employees. Also that two men shall be engaged in the 
operation of all mining machines. 

A circular issued by Charles H. Mover, president of the Western 
Federation of Miners, and dated August 25, addressed to the officers 



42 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTKICT STRIKE. 

and members of all local unions of that organization, said that the 
strikers asked for a a minimum of $3" per shift. 

The letters sent by the president and secretary-treasurer of district 
16 to the managers, dated July 14, and asking for replies by July 21, 
were registered and sent by special delivery. The letter to the 
Quincy Mining Co. was returned unopened. The other companies 
made no reply by July 21 or afterwards. 

At a meeting of district 16 on July 22 a strike was called imme- 
diately, and each of the five local unions in the district was notified. 
The strike began in most mines on the morning of July 23, but in 
others it did not begin until the beginning of the night shift on that 
day. By July 24 all mining work was suspended in all mines in the 
Michigan copper range, except two very small mines, those of the 
White Pine Copper Co. and the Victoria Copper Mining Co., which 
are at the extreme southern end of the range, where the federation 
had effected no organization. At the mines that were involved in 
the strike the number of employees on July 22, the day before the 
strike, was reported as follows: 

HOUGHTON COUNTY. 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co 4, 107 

Allouez Mining Co. 1 308 

Centennial Copper Mining Co. 1 118 

Isle Rovale Copper Co. 1 .-. 709 

La Salle Copper Co. 1 43 

Laurinm Mining Co. 1 25 

Osceola Consolidated Mining Co. 1 ■ 978 

Superior Copper Co. 1 162 

Tamarack Mining Co. 1 543 

Copper Range Consolidated Co 2, 716 

Quincy Mining Co 1, 800 

Wolverine Copper Mining Co. 2 344 

Franklin Mining Co 322 

Winona Copper Co. 3 293 

Houghton Copper Co. 3 23 

Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. 4 161 

Oneco Mining Co. 4 25 



12, 677 



KEWEENAW COUNTY. 



Ahmeek Mining Co. 1 585 

Mohawk Mining Co. 2 686 

1,271 



ONTONAGON COUNTY. 

Mass Consolidated Mining Co 176 

Lake Copper Co 154 

330 

Total in the three coimties 14, 278 

i Subsidiary to the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 

2 Wolverine Co. and Mohawk Co. have same management. 

3 Winona Co. and Houghton Co. have same management. 
* Hancock Co. and Oneco Co. have same management. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 43 

The strike also affected the mines of the Indiana Mining Co., North 
Lake Mining Co., South Lake Mining Co., and Algomah Mining Co., 
in Ontonagon County, and the Cliff Mining Co., Gratiot Mining Co., 
and Seneca Mining Co., in Houghton County. These mines are in 
the early stages of development and employed about 250 men. 

Of the 14,528 employees of these companies on July 22 (including 
the 250 employed by these " prospect' 7 mines) about 11,700 worked 
underground, and the remainder on the surface. Underground work 
came to a complete standstill, and this caused practically all of the 
surface men to be idle. As before stated, the Western Federation of 
Miners was not largely organized among the surface men. It was 
not at all organized at the stamp mills and smelters located on lakes 
several miles from the mines. No employees at the stamp mills and 
smelters struck, but these employees, numbering about 1,500, were 
also compelled to be idle after the supply of rock on hand had been 
stamped and smelted. 

Many of the employees of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., the 
largest mining company in the district, had not joined the Western 
Federation of Miners, and when those who were not members started 
to go to work, on the morning of July 23, they were attacked by the 
strikers. The strikers assembled in large crowds at the various 
shafts to prevent men going to work, and serious riots occurred in 
which the men going to work were struck with rocks and clubs. Many 
employees of the company had been sworn in as deputy sheriffs, but 
they had no firearms. The strikers overpowered these deputies, took 
away their badges, and in some cases beat them. Kioting continued 
on July 24. Following is a list of the company's employees who were 
injured sufficiently to be taken to the company's hospital: 

No. 3718. Andrew Ristvedt; age, 67; sprinkler; 4317 Oak Street; 
injured July 23 at Calumet Dry; he had his dinner pail taken away 
from him; strain of tendons of right wrist. 

No. 10999. Gabriel Popovich; age, 44; timberman; 25 Second 
Street, Tamarack; injured July 23 at Hecla No. 6; attacked and 
struck over head and left shoulder; scalp wound 1 inch long; con- 
tusion of left shoulder; disabled from July 24 to August 7. 

No. 750. William J. Thomas; age, 45; captain; 823 Rockland 
Street; injured July 23 at Calumet No. 4; struck on head with his 
dinner pail; right ear hemorrhagic; lost no time. 

No. 2914. Thomas Matthews; age, 49; captain; 277 Rockland 
Street; injured July 23 at Calumet No. 2; attacked by strikers and 
hit on head behind right ear, swelling behind right ear extending 
down on neck; disabled from July 23 to August 27. 

No. 6509. Kenneth McLeod; age, 49; watchman; Palace Hotel, 
Laurium; injured July 23 at Red Jacket shaft; hit by thrown rock 
while resisting attempt of strikers to gain entrance to engine house; 
contusion of right eye, fracture of nose, punctured wound about nose 
and over right eye; disabled from July 23 to August 26. 

No. 6158. Edwin Danbom; age, 31; drill sharpener; 273 Rock- 
land Street; injured July 24 at drill shop; two cuts on head from 
club or rock, bruised shoulder resulted from kicks, two scalp wounds 
2 inches and 1| inches long, contusion of left shoulder; disabled from 
July 24 to August 11. 



44 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 

No. 639. John T. Hand; age, 41 ; miner; 524 Florida Street; injured 
July 24 at Calumet No. 4; struck by piece of gas pipe; contusion of left 
side of chest with fracture of eleventh rib; still disabled September 11. 

No. 7921. William T. Richards; age, 66; blaster; 1806 Cemetery 
Street; injured July 24; injured by strikers; two scalp wounds and 
contusions of back; disabled from July 24 to August 31. 

No. 892. Anton Miglia; age, 50; miner; 1607 Laurium Street; 
injured July 24 at Calumet No. 4; hit on thumb with a stick; con- 
tusion of left thumb ; disabled from July 24 to August 1 . 

No. 7977. John T. Harry; age, 51; miner; 2465 C Street; injured 
July 24 by strikers; struck with clubs and rocks; abrasion of left 
cheek, contusion of right shoulder; disabled from July 24 to August 4. 

No. 2165. Frank Traven; age, 36; lander; 569 Cedar Street; injured 
July 24 at No. 16 shaft; beaten, kicked, and trampled on; contusion 
of head, chest, back, and legs; disabled from July 24 to August 25. 

No. 2989. Simon Trestrial; age, 69; blacksmith; 2367 A Street; 
injured July 24 by strikers; scalp wound; disabled from July 24 to 
August 11. 

No. 13158. Michael Maurin; age, 31; timberman;Elm Street; in- 
jured July 24 near Calumet No. 2; was chased by strikers and struck 
on head with a stick; scalp wound 1 inch long; disabled from July 24 
to August 4. 

No. 3002. William Sody; age, 47; machinist; 200 Rockland Street; 
injured July 24 at Calumet No. 2 ; scalp wound from a stick, two blows 
on back from rocks, scalp wound 3 inches long, contusion of back; 
lost no time. 

No. 1183. J. M. Betzing; age, 46; foreman, RR.; 1514 Hecla Street; 
injured July 24 near Calumet No. 2; struck with iron bar above left 
elbow and across right shoulder with a board; contusion of left arm 
and right shoulder; disabled from July 24 to August 4. 

No. 1020. George Unsworth; age, 54; mechanic; 128 Calumet Ave- 
nue; injured July 24 near Calumet No. 2; struck by a rock on head 
and hit on body with an iron bolt; scalp wound, abrasions of both 
knees, contusions of body; disabled from July 24 to August 1. 

No. 1886. Jos. Gazvoda; age, 43; deputy; 4034 Oak Street; injured 
August 20 on Oak and Tenth Streets; was attacked and struck on 
head; scalp wound 1| inches long; bruise between shoulders; dis- 
abled from August 20 to 26. 

CONTINUATION OF THE STRIKE. 

In anticipation of the strike some mine workers left the district be- 
fore it began, and many others, probably 1,000 in all, left afterwards. 
They went to the iron mines in Michigan and Minnesota, some got 
employment from the timber companies, and many worked as harvest 
hands in Michigan and neighboring States. Some found work in 
building county roads in Houghton County. 

After the arrival of the troops, on July 25, the strike was very quiet 
for two weeks. The strikers were overawed by the army of soldiers 
and by the Waddell men and the large number of deputy sheriffs. 
The deputies were provided with heavy "night sticks" and with re- 
volvers. There was, however, no occasion for disorder during these 
two weeks, as during that time no effort to resume work was made by 
any of the mining companies. The strikers hired halls, held public 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 45 

meetings, and paraded daily through the village streets, over county 
roads, and over some roads on company property which had long been 
regarded as public roads. The paraders included many women and 
children. They carried United States flags and the larger parades 
were headed by a brass band. The inscriptions on some of the 
placards carried in the parades were as follows: 

Toiling 6,000 feet below, we want more light, more money. 
Western Federation of Miners' headquarters— Denver. 
Calumet & Hecla headquarters — Boston. 
Waddell thugs' headquarters — Sing Sing. 

In Calumet and also in Houghton a large rink was rented for special 
occasions, when addresses, were made by labor leaders. These 
included at various times President Charles H. Moyer and Vice 
President C. E. Mahoney, of the vVestern Federation of Miners; 
John Mitchell, formerly president of the United Mine Workers of 
America; John B. Lennon, treasurer of the American Federation of 
Labor: John M. Walker and John L. Lewis, of the mining department 
of the American Federation of Labor; Emmett Flood, an organizer of 
the American Federation of Labor; and Mrs. Mary Jones, who has 
been a prominent character in many strikes and who is affectionately 
called "Mother Jones." They addressed audiences of from 4,000 to 
6,000 people. At all meetings speeches were made in various lan- 
guages. 

At the beginning of the strike the mine managers began holding 
semi weekly meetings at the Houghton Club in Houghton. They 
insisted that they had not formed a mine managers' association, but 
they acted together on all matters relating to the strike. 

The three daily papers published in English in Houghton County 
espoused the views of the mine managers, maintained that labor 
conditions in the dictrict were better than in any other mining 
district, asserted that no good reason for dissatisfaction existed, and, 
taking the cue of the mine managers, roundly condemned the Western 
Federation of Miners as a lawless organization. They called the 
national officers and organizers of the federation "Western agi- 
tators/' and put all the blame on them for the strike. 

Having no local medium for presenting the labor side of the con- 
troversy, except a socialistic daily published in the Finnish language, 
and some weekly papers printed in other foreign languages, the 
Western Federation of Miners started a paper of its own. It was 
called the Miners Bulletin, and it was published triweekly and dis- 
tributed broadcast free. The first issue was on August 9. The 
editor was Guy E. Miller, of the executive board of the federation, 
but articles were contributed by various other leaders. 

This paper represented the Michigan copper mines as the richest in 
the world, but with the worst labor conditions, because of low pay, 
long hours, and the depth of the lower levels. It roundly denounced 
the Waddell " gunmen," the deputy sheriffs, and the " scabs." It 
criticized the discipline of the troops and the conduct of the soldiers. 
It severely criticized Gov. Ferris for sending the troops to the 
district, and for not forcing arbitration on the mine managers, for 
not coming to the district to investigate the strike personally, and for 
not calling an extra session of the legislature to take measures for 
settling the strike. 



46 MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTRICT STRIKE. 

A meeting of former employees of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 
who had been thrown oat of work on account of the strike and who 
were not members of the federation, was held on August 7 in the 
Washington School Building, a public schoolhouse, built by the 
company and rented to the township. These nonunion employees 
declared that they wished to return to work, and they appointed a 
committee to wait on General Manager MacNaughton and inform him 
of their wish, but also to ask that the working time be reduced to 
eight hours per shift, that the minimum wage be $3.50 for miners 
and S3 per shift for trammers and timbermen, with double pay for 
Sunday work, and that two men or one man and a boy work on each 
drill. 

The officials of the Calumet & Hecla Co. and of other mining 
companies had always asserted that they would give a hearing to em- 
ployees, individually or through committees, and would consider any 
grievances they might present. General Manager MacNaughton 
received the committee of nonunion men, but refused to grant any of 
the requests they presented. In reply he said that they asked for 
more even than the federation had asked for; and furthermore said 
that he could not afford to make any concession at that time, because 
if he yielded on any point the federation would claim that it had 
won a victory. 

For several days meetings were held in the school building, and 
those who attended decided, though their requests for improved con- 
ditions had been refused, to go back to work if protection were afforded 
them. Registration slips were provided for former Calumet & Hecla 
employees to sign. The heading on these slips was as follows: 

Calumet, Mich., August 8, WIS. 

We, the undersigned employees, hereby petition the management of the Calumet & 
Hecla Mining Co. to resume work at the earliest possible date and to* furnish such pro- 
tection while working as may be necessary. 

During the following week the registration list was kept open, and 
by signing it hundreds of employees signified their desire to return to 
work without conditions, except that they should receive protection. 
The following paragraph is clipped from the Houghton and Calumet 
Daily Mining Gazette of August 9, a paper which strongly opposed 
the strike and the Western Federation of Miners: 

It is significant that nearly all of the men signing the list are miners, timbermen, 
pump men, shaft men, laborers, and surface employees, and the situation seems to be 
narrowing down to a strike of the trammers. If necessary the other employees are 
willing to do tramming until trammers can be hired. 

A meeting of former employees of the Quincy Mining Co. who 
wished to return to work was held on August 8, and they adopted the 
following resolutions and presented them to the management: 

Resolved, That we as employees are not and have not at any time been in favor of 
the present strike, which was caused by outside agitators and organizers from the 
Western Federation of Miners, who have been working in this district to stir up dis- 
content and who have brought about present conditions. 

Resolved, That we ask the Quincy Mining Co. to be allowed to return to work at 
once or as soon as possible. Many good employees have been forced to join the West- 
ern Federation of Miners under various threats. The strike was started largely against 
their will and we believe they will continue to remain loyal employees and should be 
permitted to return to work. On the other hand, many men who are members of the 
Western Federation of Miners who have sought by threats of violence and bodily 
harm to our families and ourselves and damage to our property to prevent our return- 



MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 



47 



ing to work should not be allowed in the mines, as we do not care to be forced to 
work beside such men, who have threatened us and are liable to again stir up strife 
and violence. 

Within a week work was resumed by several hundred men in the 
mines of the Calumet & Hecla Co., but a large number of these men 
were mine bosses, and many of them and also many who had been 
miners before the strike were required to do tramming. About the 
same time some work was resumed at the mines of the Quincy Mining 
Co., and a little later at the mines of the Copper Range Consolidated 
Co. These three companies, which are the largest in the district, were 
the first to resume work, but the number of men that returned to work 
at the Quincy and the Copper Range mines was small and continued 
to be small for a month or more. All men who were taken back to 
work were required to quit the Western Federation of Miners if they 
belonged to it and were required to promise to have no future con- 
nection with that organization. 

About the middle of August the employees of the mining companies 
and the strikers were paid for the work they had done in July. The 
strikers were paid for three weeks' work. About September 1 the five 
local unions of the Western Federation of Miners began paying money 
to the strikers for the support of themselves and their families. 
Before this was done members were required to fill out an inquiry 
blank, showing the number of members in the family of each. The 
form of the blank follows : 

Inquiry Blank. 

Name 

Nationality 

Residence 

Married: Yes [....]. No [....]. 

Wife's name 

Are you willing to send children away? Yes [ ]. No [ ]. If so, how many 

Ledger ; page 



Names of children or other supported relatives. 


Girl 
(woman). 


Boy 
(man). 


Age. 


































Total 















Remarks: 



No children of strikers were sent away from the district up to 
November 1. The aid given to each member of the federation 
depended on the number in his family and on his financial condi- 
tion. Single men who were not employed were paid S3 a week and 
married men as much as $10. The money with which strike benefits 
were paid came from the national treasury of the Western Federa- 
tion of Miners in Denver and from various other sources. The local 
unions of the federation in Butte, Mont., levied an assessment of $2 
per capita per month on their 8,000 or 9,000 members. The unions 
of the United Mine Workers of America in Illinois, the organization 
of coal miners, contributed $100,000. On September 29 the execu- 



48 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

live council of the American Federation of Labor issued an appeal 
to all organized labor to support the strike, and called on each local 
union to make an appropriation of not less than 5 cents for each of 
its members for the benefit of the strikers in the Michigan copper 
district. As the American Federation of Labor has over 2.000.000 
members, this appropriation should amount to over ? 100,000. The 
appeal of the executive council follows: 

Washington, September 29, WIS. 
To all organized labor: 

Each new advance in human betterment leaves its furrows of pain and suffering 
across human hearts and lives. There is scarcely a worker in all America who does 
not know the meaning of a strike, during which the workers and their families have 
suffered and endured in order to obtain justice, or who has not felt the terrible fear 
for the physical safety of loved ones in the thick of the contest, or the heartbreaking 
pain because of inability to supply even the barest necessities of life for those depend- 
ent upon him. To you, members of organized labor, the brave struggle of the copper 
miners of Calumet, Mich., will appeal with greatest effect. 

After exhausting all other means of securing the just demands which they made 
upon their employers, these miners laid aside their tools on July 23 and went out on 
strike. They had been working a so-called 10-hour day, which in reality was an 
11-hour day, for wages that would not permit American- standards of living. Miners 
have been forced to handle individually heavy drilling machines which had formerly 
been operated by two men. After considering all matters, the men decided to demand 
an 8-hour day, $3 as the minimum wage, and two men to handle drilling machines, 
as formerly. All requests for conferences or consideration of these just demands were 
ignored and treated with contempt. 

Despite the fact that the strike was inaugurated peacefully and has been conducted 
by the miners without even the slightest show of violence, seldom has there been 
such a display of arbitrary methods on the part of the mine operators and govern- 
mental authorities. The morning after the strike began hundreds of deputies were 
sworn in; the employers imported companies of Waddell-Mahon guards; finally State 
troops were sent to the mining district that the mine owners might be enabled to 
operate their mines and the voice of labor in its appeal for justice might be silenced. 
All of this display of force was under the pretense of protecting property (when the 
miners did not attack it nor contemplate attacking it); when the miners attempted 
to protect and promote human rights they were ridden down in the streets, clubbed, 
fired upon. 

Though there have been the usual efforts to foment strife and to stir up violence 
among the strikers, yet no property has been destroyed, and the miners have remained 
steadfast in their determination to win their rights, and in their determination not 
to be forced into lawlessness. 

The officials of the miners asked for an injunction restraining the appointment of 
additional deputies to serve the mine operators. Their request was refused. The 
mine operators asked for an injunction restraining the strikers from picketing, "molest- 
ing," men going to or from work and from parading in the vicinity of the mines. 
That order was granted. 

Such are the conditions under which these copper mines are waging their fight for 
justice and a life somewhat better worth living. With all the forces of capital and 
organized society working against them, they have maintained courage, determina- 
tion, and good spirit. There are 16,000 miners engaged in this struggle. A large num- 
ber of miners and their families were evicted from their homes, owned by the cor- 
porations. The lives, safety, and welfare of something like 50,000 men, women, and 
children are bound up with its fate. The strike has now been in progress for over two 
months, and still the mine operators maintain stubborn resistance and unreasonable 
refusal to consider the demands of the men. The long, hard winter of northern Mich- 
igan is approaching, and these brave men, women, and children who are bearing the 
brunt of this fight for industrial justice for American workingmen are in need. 

Two members of our executive council, John Mitchell and John B. Lennon, have 
been among these strikers and presented to us unquestionable evidence of the con- 
ditions there. After consideration of the conditions, the need and importance of the 
issues involved, the executive council makes this appeal to all the members of organ- 
ized labor for prompt and generous financial assistance to aid these needy and suffering 
fellow workers, their wives, and children. 

We appeal in the name of all labor and common humanity that each local union at 
once make an appropriation from its funds of not less than 5 cents for each member, 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 49 

that each centraljlabor union select a committee to appeal to all workers and friends 
to contribute promptly and as generously as possible, and to use every other honor- 
able means by which funds may be secured. The men and women and children of 
Calumet, Mich., must not be starved into submission. They must and they will 
win, if the toilers of our country will but do their duty. 

Remember that the splendid solidarity of the workers of America largely aided in 
securing the magnificent victory of the anthracite miners a few years ago. The news- 
papers have suppressed nearly all reference to the Calumet miners' strike. In this 
appeal we hope to reach the minds, hearts, and the consciences of our fellow workers 
and friends and thereby secure then- ready response to the call for aid. 

Send all contributions to Frank Morrison, secretary American Federation of Labor, 
Ouray Building, Washington, D. C, who will return receipt for the same and promptly 
forward every dollar to the immediate aid of the struggling miners of Calumet. 
Fraternally, yours, 

Executive council, American Federation of Labor: Samuel Gompers, pres- 
ident; Frank Morrison, secretary; James Duncan, first vice president ; 
John Mitchell, second vice president; James O'Connell, third vice 
president; D. A. Hayes, fourth vice president; Wm. D. Huber, fifth 
vice president; Jos. F. Valentine, sixth vice president; John R. Al- 
pine, seventh vice president; H. B. Perham. eighth vice president; 
John B„ Lennon, treasurer. 

About August 20 posters were printed and distributed in quan- 
tities to labor unions in adjoining States. They were intended to be 
displayed in conspicuous places to call attention to the strike and 
to warn workingmen not to come to the Michigan copper district. 
The form of the poster follows : 

Strike . 

Stay away from the copper mines of Michigan. Fifteen thousand miners are striking 
for higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. 

Don't be a scab. 

Wages are low, the labor required excessive, hours long. 

No real man will come to the copper district until a settlement is made. 

Men hired for Michigan points are hired to scab . 

Stay away. 

By order of Western Federation of Miners. 

On September 4 the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. fitted up a pow- 
erful searchlight on a tall tower, and later the Quincy Mining Co. 
followed the example. The reason for installing these great search- 
lights was not apparent, as the strikers had shown no disposition to 
damage property. 

THE MILITIA, DEPUTY SHERIFFS, AND IMPORTED GUARDS. 

On the night of July 23-24, James A. Cruse, sheriff of Houghton 
County, telegraphed Gov. Woodbridge N. Ferris, asking that 2,000 
of the State troops be sent to prevent further disorder. Following 
is part of the telegraphic correspondence : 

Houghton, Mich.. July 24 — 2 a. m. 
Gov. Woodbridge N. Ferris. 

Alpena, Mich.: 

General strike has been called to-day in all the mines in Houghton County, backed 
by the Western Federation of Miners. Armed rioters have begun to destroy property 
and have threatened the lives of men who want to work. I am unable to handle the 
situation, because the territory to be covered is 28 miles long. The strike is on in 
20 mines, with 15,000 men idle. 

I have taken every means in my power to control the outbreak, but I am convinced 
that the situation will become worse and will result in great destruction of property 

S. Doc. 381, 62-3 4 



50 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

and possible loss of life unless I receive the aid of State troops. I will require about 
2,000 men to cover the territory, and as Sheriff of Houghton County I ask that you call 
out troops to that number and detail them for service here at once. 

James A. Cruse, 
Sheriff of Houghton County. 

Harrisville, Mich., July 24, 1913—4.38 a. m. 
James A. Cruse, Sheriff, Calumet, Mich.: 

Have ordered troops sent to copper country immediately. 

W. N. Ferris, Governor. 

Lansing, Mich., July 24, 1913 — 9 p.m. 
James A. Cruse, 

Sheriff of Houghton County, Calumet, Mich.: 

Gov. Ferris has ordered troops to go to your county at once. Some have started; 
others in the morning. 

E. C. Auston, Executive Cleric. 



Lansing, Mich., July 24, 1913—11.20 p. m. 
James A. Cruse, 

Sheriff Houghton County, Calumet, Mich.: 

Wire to-morrow morning, Friday, exact conditions of affairs in detail. Is situation 
as grave as first anticipated? 

Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor. 



Bat City, Mich., July 25, 1913—12.33 a. m. 
James A. Cruse, 

Sheriff Houghton County, Calumet, Mich. 
What is the situation now? Do all in your power to avoid calling troops. Will 
send troops if absolutely necessary. Property and life must be protected. At Bay 
City until noon. Arrive Alpena 5 o'clock. 

Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor. 



Lansing, Mich., July 25, 1913 — 1.15 a. m. 
J. A. Cruse, 

Sheriff Houghton County, Mich., Calumet. 
Adjoining counties need troops; the sheriffs of respective counties must appeal to 
governor direct. Present calling out of troops applies oni * *>> Houghton County. 

Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor, 

Gov. Ferris ordered the whole National Guard of Michigan to the 
scene of the strike in Houghton County. The various companies 
began to entrain on the evening of July 24 and some arrived on the 
morning of July 25. By July 27 all had reached their destination. 
The armed force consisted of 2 batteries of artillery, 2 troops of 
cavalry, mounted signal corps, 1 company of engineers, and 3 regi- 
ments of infantry, each with 12 companies; also 2 ambulance com- 
panies and 3 brass bands. The entire force numbered 211 officers 
and 2,354 enlisted men, under the command of Brig. Gen. P. L. 
Abbey, of Kalamazoo. 

The soldiers were distributed to the various mine locations in 
Houghton County and encamped in tents on land belonging to the 
mining companies. On their arrival the rioting ceased, and there 
was no further disorder until some of the mine workers started to 
return to work. At some mines the stoppage of the pumps caused 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 51 

water to accumulate in the bottoms of the shafts. The strikers, 
however, made no effort to damage any of the property of the mining 
companies at the beginning of the strike or later. At the beginning 
of the strike it was directed by three members of the executive board 
of the Western Federation of Miners who were on the ground — Guy 
E. Miller, J. C. Lowney, and Yanco Terzich. Vice President C. E. 
Mahoney arrived on July 26. The next day a protest against the 
presence of the troops was adopted at a meeting of the strikers, and 
Mahoney left for Big Rapids where he presented it to Gov. Ferris. 
The governor was reported to have said in an interview on July 28: 

The mine operators had nothing to do with caiimg the militia. The order was 
issued after the authorities informed me they were powerless to control the situa- 
tion. I believe the troops are necessary at present to protect lives and property. 
I will return to Lansing to-morrow, and at the present time I see no reason why I 
should go up to the upper peninsula. 

Gov. Ferris never visited the copper country during the strike. 
His order for the National Guard to go to the district was in pursuance 
of the State military law, which provides that the governor — 

may order out any portion of the militia for the service of the State to suppress 
riots and to aid civil officers in the execution of the laws of this State or of the United 
States. 1 

Some companies of the National Guard were stationed in the lower 
end of Keweenaw County to guard the property of the two i. nes 
there, the Mohawk and the Ahmeek. Alt the rest were stationed at 
mines in Houghton County. On July 29 John Hep ting, sheriff of 
Keweenaw County, asked Gen. Abbey, by telephone, to withdraw the 
troops from that county. He said that there were no disturbances in 
his county and that he had not requested that soldiers be sent to the 
county, but merely that they might be placed near the Houghton 
County line to be available if needed. Later on the same day, how- 
ever, he signed a paper as follows: 

Mohawk. Mich., July 29, 1913. 
Gen. P. L. Abbey, 

Commanding Michigan National Guard: 
The conditions at Mohawk mine are such that I ask you to protect the people and 
property at Mohawk until the Mohawk Mining Co. is satisfied that order is restored. 
* John Hefting, 

^ v r Sheriff of Keweenaw County. 

Gen. Abbey secured written authority from J. A. Cruse, sheriff of 
Houghton County, to make arrests and to use such force as might be 
necessary to preserve order in that county. The authorization given 
by Sheriff Cruse was similar in form to another written authorization, 
which was signed by Sheriff Hep ting on August 3, a copy of which 
follows : 

Michigan National Guard, 
Calumet, Mich., Augusts, 1913. 
Brig. Gen. P. L. Abbey, 

Commanding Michigan National Guard, 

Calumet, Mich. 
Sir: The governor of the State of Michigan having at my request authorized the 
use of the National Guard within the confines of the County of Keweenaw for the 
purpose of aiding the civil authorities therein in the preservation of peace and the 
execution of the laws of this State, therefore I, as sheriff of said county, do authorize 
you as commanding officer of the military forces on such duty to station said forces 

1 Act 84 of Public Acts of 1909, as amended by act 67 and act 172 of Public Acts of 1911. 



52 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

in any part or portion of my bailiwick as in your discretion seems best, and with the 
use of such troops to prevent any violation or violations of the laws of this State, to 
break up any unlawful assemblages, to prevent rioting or other unlawful acts being 
committed, to make arrests of persons engaged in any breach of the peace or in the 
commission of a felony, or aiding or abetting the same, and to use such force as may- 
be necessary and justifiable in carrying out the authority herein given. 

John Hepting, 
Sheriff of Kevjeenaw County. 

Before the strike began James A. Cruse, sheriff of Houghton 
County, had sworn in about 430 deputy sheriffs, at the request of the 
mining companies, nearly all of them employees of the companies. 
Some of these had been deputized months before the strike began.. 
After the strike began he increased the number of deputies until 
November 1, when the} r numbered about 1,700. Many of this addi- 
tional force were employees of the companies, but some were men who 
were not so engaged. In a telegram to Sheriff Cruse, Gov. Ferris 
warned him that he must observe the statute regarding the appoint- 
ment of deputy sheriffs. A copy of the telegram follows : 

Lansing, Mich., August 7, 1913 — 10.15 a. m. 
James A. Cruse, 

Sheriff Houghton County, Calumet, Mich.: 
In appointing deputies observe section 2596, Compiled Laws 1897, which says "Th© 
people of the State of Michigan enact, that hereafter no sheriff in this State shall ap- 
poi any undersheriff or deputy sheriff, except the person to be so appointed shall 
nave been a bona fide resident of the county in which the appointment is made for 
three months, next preceding the time of appointment." 

WOODBRIDGE N. FERRIS, 

Governor of Michigan* 

The deputy sheriffs appointed by the sheriff were given authority to 
carry arms, under section 3, act 274, Public Acts of 1911, which pro- 
vides that the prosecuting attorney and the sheriff of a county shall 
have power to grant licenses for carrying arms. This section is as 
follows : 

Sec. 3. The prosecuting attorney and sheriff, in counties in which no regularly 
organized police force exists, and in counties where one or more regularly organized 
police forces exist, the prosecuting attorney, sheriff, and chief of police of the city 
within which such license is sought shall constitute a board, whose duty it shall be 
and who shall have power to grant licenses to carry a revolver, pistol, or pocket billy, 
and the said board shall meet on the first Monday in each month at the county seat, 
for the purpose of hearing applications to carry a revolver, pistol, or pocket billy. A 
majority of said board shall constitute a quorum. 

The employees of the mining companies that were sworn in as 
deputy sheriffs were permitted to carry arms under section 4, act 274, 
Public Acts of 1911, which provides that upon payment of $10 by 
such a company any of its employees, the number not being 
restricted, may obtain a generallicense for them to bear arms. This 
section, which is called a "blanket license" act, follows: 

Sec 4. It shall be the duty of said board to issue licenses to go armed with a 
revolver, pistol, or pocket billy to all peace officers and such other persons who in the 
judgment of said board should be permitted to go so armed: Provided, That upon the 
payment to said board of the sum of ten dollars, mining companies, banks, trust com- 
panies, railroad and express companies may obtain a general license good for any of 
their employees actually engaged in guarding any property or the transportation of 
moneys or other valuables. Licenses issued to peace officers or to employees of rail- 
road and express companies shall permit such persons to go armed anywhere within the 
Stale while in the discharge of their dutio^. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 53 

Following is a copy of a letter from the governor to the sheriff: 

State of Michigan, Executive Chamber, 

Lansing, August 9, 1913. 
My Dear Sir: Your letter of August 4 came to Big Rapids and was read to me 
over the phone, so that I received it while I was at the executive office. I also 
received your telegram with reference to appointing deputies. No doubt Gen. Abbey 
has told you that his plan is to withdraw the troops gradually, but solely with reference 
to the safety and welfare of the citizens of the strike region. 
There is no occasion for my writing a long letter. 
Very sincerely, yours. 

Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor. 
James A. Cruse, 

Sheriff Houghton County. Houghton. Mich. 

The strike that began on July 23 had been talked of as a proba- 
bility for six months, and for a month before that date it had been 
yery confidently expected. Two weeks before that date James A. 
Waddell, president of the Waddell-Mahon Corporation, of New York, 
arrived in Houghton County for the purpose of making a contract 
with the county board of supervisors or with the mine managers to 
furnish guards. The board of supervisors is composed of 18 men, 
one selected by each of the townships in the county and one from 
each of the four wards of Hancock City. This board is completely 
dominated by the mine managers. A number of its members are 
mine managers, and nearly all of the others are connected directly 
or indirectly in business relations with the mining companies. 

James McNaughton, general manager of the Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co., the largest mining company, is one of the 18 supervisors, 
and he is credited with being the controlling spirit in the board of 
supervisors, and also among the mine managers. At first he was 
opposed to employing men as guards from Waddell, because he felt 
that the strike would last but a short time and that the men who 
wished to continue at work and the property of the mining companies 
could be protected by the local deputies, who were mostly employees 
of the companies. After the riots of the first two days of the strike, 
however, the board of supervisors decided that the force of local 
deputy sheriffs was inadequate to preserve order, and the board 
authorized Sheriff James A. Cruse to employ Waddell men. Men in 
WaddelPs employ left New York on July 25, reached Houghton 
County two days later, and were distributed to various mine loca- 
tions in the county. The number of Waddell men employed by the 
county was 52. The Waddell men were appointed under section 
2590 of the Compiled Laws of 1897, which is as follows: 

(2590) Sec 81. Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, coroner, or constable may require suit- 
able aid in the service of process in civil or criminal cases, in preserving the peace, 
or in apprehending or securing any person for felony or breach of the peace, when such 
officer may have power to perform such duty; and when any such officer shall find re- 
sistance made against the execution of any process, or shall have good reason to believe 
that such resistance will be made, he may take the power of the county, and proceed 
therewith in proper person to execute sueh process. 

Following is a copy of a letter from the sheriff to the governor : 

Houghton, Mich., August 10, 191S. 
Eon. "Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor, 

Lansing, Mich. 
Sir: As sheriff of the county of Houghton, I wish to lay before you to the best of 
my knowledge the present situation with regard to the pending strike called by the 



54 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Western Federation of Miners and involving a portion of the employees of the various 
mining companies of this county. 

At the beginning of the strike, which occurred simultaneously at the several mines 
and covered a district about 28 miles long, I found myself without sufficient force to 
cope with or effectively resist the disorder and violence which accompanied it. My 
deputies were attacked. The authority of my office was ignored. It was not until 
the arrival of the Michigan National Guard that order was restored, and I believe that it 
is the presence of an adequate force alone which results in its continuance at the present 
time. I believe upon information coming from various sources to my office that with- 
out an adequate force for the maintenance of the public peace violence to person and 
property will at once ensue; that the people inclined to violence are lying low for that 
chance. It is also my belief, based on similar information, that if the public peace 
is maintained and lawlessness and disorder effectively restrained for a while longer 
the strike will soon end by the voluntary returning to work on the part of the employees, 
a large part of whom have already expressed their wish to go to work. With the return 
of confidence the number expressing this feeling is increasing daily, and I am informed 
that there is a growing sentiment among the strikers themselves to the same effect. 
Anything to destroy the confidence of the community in the preservation of order and 
the protection of life and property will, in my judgment, seriously prolong the present 
situation. 

The above is the situation as it is viewed by myself from all the information avail- 
able to me and from my personal observation. I now desire to state to you fully and 
frankly just the position I am in with reference to maintaining order and protecting 
life and property through the authority and forces at -my command as sheriff of this 
county. 

This has been a peaceable community and there has never been any organized force 
available for official action. The force directly attached to my office has consisted of 
the few deputies necessary for the ordinary serving of process. I have at present, 
under recent appointment throughout the county, about 600 deputies, but they are, 
as to nearly the whole number, local men at the several mining properties, employees 
of the mining companies, who have been deputized to give them the authority of 
officers, but who act merely as watchmen and caretakers of the property. If any 
disorder should occur, I could not depend on any sufficient number to respond to a 
call from my office for the suppression of violence or riot. 

I have found it impossible so far to obtain men in whose efficiency I could have 
confidence who could be organized into a regular force; and while it is my strongest 
wish to be able through my office to control any disorder or attempts at disorder that 
may arise, I feel that the gravity of the situation and the extent of territory to be 
covered make it impossible for me to meet the situation with any force upon which 
I could depend. 

I have employed, through the Waddell Agency, 52 men from outside the State. 
These men are not deputized, and under the law I can not confer upon them the author- 
ity of deputy sheriffs; but I am using them as aids and for the purpose of organizing 
and instructing deputy sheriffs, and as watchmen in the guarding of property. This 
I felt justified in doing because of the impossibility of finding men for the purpose 
locally. 

Should it happen that I must handle the situation alone while the possibility of 
violence and destruction of property continues, I can see no way of meeting the 
situation except to employ, on behalf of the county, a body of men from outside, to 
act as my aids in the suppression of riot, if necessary, and in the protection of life and 
property. I should be very unwilling to do anything of this kind, and it would be 
only as a last resort in carrying out my sworn duty in the maintenance of the public 
peace. Of course, with the aid of the Michigan National Guard, no such step will 
be necessary. 

I feel that a reduction in the number of the troops which I am told is about to take 
place, is reasonable, but I also feel that the removal of the entire force is not now justi- 
fied and would be followed by a situation of great danger to this community. 

I have been and am doing my best to find among residents of the county reliable 
men whom I can appoint as deputies. I hope to have a number who can guard en- 
dangered property as the number of the troops is reduced, but to obtain a sufficient 
organized force for the suppression of riot, or the enforcement of law and order in the 
existing situation, is beyond my power. An insufficient or an unorganized or undisci- 
plined force of deputies would, in my judgment, be not only useless but would be a 
menace. 

My sole and only wish is to do my sworn duty in the preservation of the public 
peace, the enforcement of law, and the protection of life and property. I have tried 
to make clear to you that with my best efforts I do not feel that I can control the situa- 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 55 

tion with reference to the peace and order of the county with any local force which 
I may be able to get together. I do not feel that I can maintain order, or give proper 
legal protection to life and property without the assistance for a time of the Michigan 
National Guard. If I should have to maintain order without that assistance while 
present conditions continue I should fear an immediate renewal of violence, which 
would force upon me the employment of outside armed assistance. For the good 
name of the State this should be avoided. The community has thus far depended 
solely upon the public authorities of the State and county for protection of property 
and the restraining of intimidation and violence. Their growing confidence in that 
protection should be preserved. 
Yours, respectfully, 

James A. Cruse, 
Sheriff of Houghton County. 

Following is a summary of an interview with James MacNaughton, 
published in the Detroit Free Press, which appeared in the Hancock 
Evening Copper Journal of August 1 1 : 

According to an interview published in the Detroit Free Press, James MacNaughton, 
general manager of the Calumet & Hecla, declared he would just as soon have "Lefty 
Louie" or "Gyp the Blood" in his employ as a peace officer as James Waddell, the 
strike breaker imported from New York. 

He furthermore declared that the Calumet & Hecla had not been concerned in the 
engagement of Waddell; that none of its officers knew Waddell was engaged until 
after lie had arrived; that Waddell had obtained an audience with him under false 
pretences and that Waddell had been shown the door the moment his identity was 
revealed. 

Furthermore, MacNaughton stated that not one cent of Calumet & Hecla money 
would go to Waddell and that none of Wadcl ell's men would be permitted to act as 
guards on Calumet & Hecla property. 

Mr. MacNaughton, in making the statement, declared that he did not hold one of 
the company's striking employees responsible for the strike. 

"We have Croatians, Austrians, Hungarians, Italians from northern Italy, Poles, 
and other nationalities working for us, and they are industrious, loyal men; but they 
do not know our language or our customs, our laws, nor our ideals. They have been 
influenced by Western Federation of Miners' organizers and hired men who have 
\ ee i here in some cases for years. Constant dropping will wear a stone. 

"We challenge inspection of pay rolls, housing conditions, and our treatment of 
men in every particular. But our men, told day after day that they were being mis- 
treated, underpaid, or otherwise oppressed, finally were persuaded. We hold nothing 
against them, understand just exactly how they were induced to strike. They are 
coming back, because they are learning what the union is not doing for them. 

"We will not even evict a single tenant, striker or otherwise, for nonpayment of rent. 
The men now idle are not paying their $1 per family per month for medical, surgical, 
and hospital attendance, which is continued for all miners and their families, irre- 
spective of then* union affiliations, whether strikers or not. We do this because we 
know that our men have been misled." 

When the Waddell men had first been brought into the district 
the sheriff and prosecuting attorney of Houghton County had issued 
authority for them to carry arms under section 3, act 274, Public 
Acts of 1911, which is quoted on a previous page. After the shooting 
at Painesdale on August 15, in which one striker was killed and four 
wounded, one of them fatally, by four Waddell men and two deputy 
sheriffs, Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Lucas served notice on Sheriff 
James A. Cruse that he withdraw his consent for any of the Waddell 
men to carry weapons, but as the board for authorizing the carrying 
of weapons is composed of only two, and as Sheriff Cruse did not with- 
draw his consent, the Waddell men continued to carry arms while 
they remained in the county. 

The seven members of the executive board of District Union No. 16 
of the Western Federation of Miners petitioned the State circuit court 
for an injunction to restrain James A. Cruse, sheriff of Houghton 
County, from continuing Waddell-Mahon men in his employ in the 



56 MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 

service of process in civil or criminal cases, in preserving the peace, 
or in apprehending or securing any person for felony or breach of the 
peace. The petition stated that at all times the sheriff could have 
secured the services of suitable men who were residents of the county 
to serve as deputies, as required by law; that Waddell-Mahon men 
had deliberately and intentionally sought to pick quarrels with peace- 
ful and law-abiding citizens; and that these men had been brought 
into Houghton County not for the purpose of preserving peace and 
protecting the lives and property of citizens, but to harass the strikers 
and to break up the strike. The petition further declared that not a 
single shot had been fired by a striker since the strike began; that 
two of the strikers had been shot in then legs ; and that the Waddell- 
Mahon men had shot into a house at Painesdale in which there were 
15 persons, resulting in the death of two and the wounding of two 
others. The statements in the petition were supported by affidavits 
signed by a number of the strikers. E. F. Le Gendre, an attorney, filed 
an affidavit that James A. Waddell was virtually in charge of the 
sheriff's office; that he made that office his headquarters; and that he 
dictated everything the sheriff did with regard to making arrests of 
strikers and serving processes on them. An affidavit was filed from a 
justice of the peace which showed that a warrant which was returned 
by a Waddell-Mahon man had to be served a second time by a duly 
authorized deputy sheriff. The petition in part follows: 

Sec. 7. That in addition to this force (militia), which was under the control of the 
sheriff and with which, without doubt, it was in the power and ability of the said sheriff 
to serve the process issued by the courts of the county, to maintain peace and preserve 
order therein , and to protect [prevent] the destruction of property therein, and to enforce 
protection to the citizens of the county, your orator alleges that, in violation of the law, 
the said sheriff brought into the county 'of Houghton numerous so-called strong-arm 
men who were in the employ of the so-called Waddel-Mahon corporation in large 
numbers, as your orator is informed and believes, and therefore charges the truth 
to be in excess of 200; that your orator can not say definitely how many there are of 
such men in said county, but alleges that on, to-wit: Tuesday, the 12th day of 
August, A. D. 1913, the board of supervisors of the county of Houghton allowed to the 
Waddell-Mahon corporation the sum of $6,621, which your orator is informed and 
believes represents and paid for the transportation of said Waddell-Mahon men from 
the city of New York to Houghton County, with their salaries or compensation for the 
eight days immediately preceding the 1st day of August, A. D. 1913, and that in addi- 
tion thereto the sum of $803 was allowed by said board of supervisors for the board and 
lodging of said Waddell-Mahon men. 

Sec. 8. Your orator alleges, upon information and belief, and charges the truth to be, 
that a number if not all of the men of the so-called Waddell-Mahon men employed by 
said sheriff were made and are now acting as deputy sheriffs of Houghton County under 
appointment by said Sheriff James A. Cruse in violation of the statute in such case 
made and provided. 

Sec. 9. That the employees of said Waddell-Mahon corporation have been used by 
said sheriff for the service of process and in the transportation of prisoners to and 
from the jail and in acting as court officers and in making arrests and in transporting 
prisoners from the place of arrest to the county jail; that said Waddell-Mahon men 
are tall, large, and muscular men of the prize fighter variety; that since they have 
been in the said county of Houghton said Waddell-Mahon men have deliberately 
tried to incite the citizens of said Houghton County to riot and disturbance; they 
have deliberately and intentionally tried to break up and molest the peaceful parades 
of the striking employees of the said county of Houghton while walking along the 
public highways of said county; that these Waddell-Mahon men have been in prac- 
tical control of the sheriff 's office of said county of Houghton and directing the exe- 
cution and enforcement of the laws in said county of Houghton; that in transporting 
men arrested in said county of Houghton to the county jail the said Waddell-Mahon 
men have beaten their prisoners while in automobiles; and that while in the county 
jail of said county of Houghton prisoners arrested in connection with said strike have 
been unmercifullv and cruelly beaten bv the said Waddell-Mahon men. all while 



MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTBICT STRIKE. 57 

the said prisoners were not obstructing or resisting arrest and while they were behav- 
ing as prisoners; that under the direction of, if not by the direct authority of, the 
said sheriff the said Waddell-Mahon men have made numerous arrests in said county 
of Houghton of men on strike without any cause therefor, and without any evidence 
of any offense having been committed by said prisoners ; that on many examinations 
conducted after the arrest of said prisoners it was found that not a scintilla of evidence 
was produced or was in the possession of the said sheriff of said Houghton County or 
said Waddell-Mahon men in any way connecting said prisoners with the violation of 
any law or the commission of any offense ; that many of said strikers have been arrested 
for the alleged commission of misdemeanors not in the presence of the said sheriff or 
any of his duly authorized deputies, without warrant, contrary to the laws of the 
State of Michigan. 

A. A. Kerr, attorney for the Western Federation of Miners, quoted 
section 2590 of the Compiled Laws of 1897, providing that — 

Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, coroner, or constable may require suitable aid in the 
service of process in civil or criminal cases, in preserving the peace, etc. 

He claimed that the Waddell-Mahon men were virtually acting as 
deputy sheriffs, and that this was a violation of section 2596 of the 
Compiled Laws of 1897, which provides that no person shall be 
appointed deputy sheriff — 

except the person to be so appointed shall have been a bona fide resident of the 
county in which the appointment is made for three months next preceding the 
time of appointment. 

Attorney Kerr claimed that the sheriff had gone beyond his author- 
ity in calling to his aid persons whom the legislature never intended 
should be employed as peace officers. He further claimed that th$ 
records of the Waddell-Mahon men showed that they were not " suit- 
able aid" for the sheriff. 

Charles S. Watson, counsel for the sheriff and the Waddell-Mahon 
Corporation, claimed that there were allegations in the petition which 
were not supported by affidavits. He also argued that the use of 
the word " suitable" in the statute referred not to the moral caliber 
of the men but to their number. He insisted that the sheriff had a 
perfect right to appoint persons as aids who came from other States. 

This petition for an injunction was decided by Judge P. H. O'Brien 
on August 23. He decided that under the law persons from outside 
the State could not be appointed deputy sheriffs, but that such per- 
sons could be appointed as "aids." His decision in part follows: 

I have come to the conclusion (it may be a little premature) I have no power to 
grant this injunction. I would have had the authority to prevent the appointment 
of these men as deputy sheriffs, but it appears they are merely training deputy 
sheriffs. 

The court has no right to pass on the suitability of the officers, but I am inclined 
to believe that when a deputy goes beyond his power of duties the court can restrain 
him. I have no doubt that if men in the guise of police officers are stirring up riot 
and trouble, and that it is probable that these conditions will continue, the court 
has a right to enjoin them, even if they were legally appointed. The sheriff under 
present conditions has broad power, but men appointed by him should be the onea 
to keep the peace, and not to stir up trouble. 

I shall expect the sheriff to keep his deputies and others in his employ within the 
bounds of their duties. They must not break up peaceful parades. The sheriff 
must assist neither the mining companies nor the strikers. This is a time for dis- 
cretion, both on the part of the sheriff and the parties involved in the dispute. I 
understand, the difficulties the sheriff has labored under, and I have confidence in 
his good faith. But no one in his office can be employed to break a strike. As long as 
we have no arbitration court in which to settle labor disputes, all the officers of the law- 
can do is to preserve life and property. I regard it as a disgrace to civilization that 
no forum has been created for the settlement of these disputes, but as long as no such 
forum exists we, as officers of the law, must keep our hands off. I don't see. without 



58 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

passing on this bill, how I can interfere with the sheriff. The law provides a remedy 
when the sheriff exceeds his duty, and in this court it will be a real substantial rem- 
edy. It ought to be the effort of both parties to this controversy to get together. 
We ought to have more Christianity. 

There is absolutely no precedent in the courts of this or any other county for such 
action as is being brought here. As far as I know no such suit has been brought 
before. If after more careful study I find the order should be issued, it will be issued. 
I may hand down a final ruling and opinion within the coming week. 

The intimation by Judge O'Brien that if evidence were brought to 
him that the Waddell-Mahon men thereafter stirred up strife and 
trouble he would enjoin them, even though they had been legally 
appointed as aids, served as a restraint on these men, and they did not 
serve processes, and for some time were more careful not to incite 
persons to violence. 

The Waddell men remained in the district for months, and the 
county paid to Waddell $5 a day for each of them, and also paid their 
traveling expenses and their hotel bills at places in the county where 
they were stationed. Receiving $5 a day each for the men, Waddell 
paid them $3 a day;, making $2 a day on each man. 

Two of the mining companies employed men from Waddell and 
themselves paid for these men. In September Waddell was fur- 
nishing to the county 52 men, and he furnished to the Copper Range 
Consolidated Co. 32 men and to the Quincy Mining Co. 28 men — a 
total of 112 in the district. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. also 
employed some Pinkerton men especially as a bodyguard for its 
general manager and other officers. 

The strikers were much more incensed at the bringing of Waddell 
men to the district than they were at the governor for sending soldiers 
to the district. They called the Waddell men " gunmen" and de- 
nounced them as "thugs." They made a vain appeal to the gov- 
ernor to have the Waddell men withdrawn on the ground that these 
men were desperate characters, and that to bring men from a distant 
State to act as "aids" to the sheriff was a violation of the law which 

Erovides that deputy sheriffs should not be appointed unless they 
ad been bona fide residents of the county for three months. The 
strikers were much more enraged by the employment of these Waddell 
men than by any other circumstance that occurred during the whole 
strike. 

At a meeting of the board of supervisors of Houghton County on 
August 12, bills were approved which aggregated $9,507, and which 
amount was incurred in preserving order during the strike from the 
time it began on July 23, to the end of that month. Of this amount 
the Waddell-Mahon Corporation of New York received $7,606.38 in 
settlement of the salaries of men furnished by that corporation and in 
payment of their traveling expenses and hotel bills; $630.50 had 
been paid for deputy sheriffs and $1,270.12 spent for automobile hire. 
The supervisors at this meeting adopted resolutions which highly 
commended Sheriff James A. Cruse for his action in bringing to the 
county men from New York to protect life and property during the 
strike. Only one of the supervisors opposed the adoption of these 
resolutions. The sheriff was authorized to proceed as before and to 
secure and arm such additional deputies as he might consider neces- 
sary for the purpose of preserving order. 

At a meeting of the board of supervisors on September 9, bills for 
August were allowed and ordered paid. These included $10,344.83 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 59 

for services by Waddell-Mahon men; $4,208.75 for wages of special 
deputv sheriffs; $1,504.23 for board of deputies; $27.63 for trans- 
portation of deputies; $1,656 for automobile hire for the sheriff and 
deputies; and $1,304.33 for revolvers and ammunition, a total of 
$19,045.77. The following item is copied from the published pro- 
ceedings of the board: 

The following amendment was offered by Supervisor Rourke: Moved that all bills 
be allowed and ordered paid with the exception of the bills of the Waddell-Mahon 
Corporation and all bills accruing from their employees in Houghton County. There 
being no support to the said amendment, the motion was declared of no avail. 

The following was published in the local columns of the Houghton 
and Calumet Daily Mining Gazette for September 29: 

Sheriff Cruse, who returned Friday noon from a conference with Gov. Ferris at 
Lansing and thereafter was so busy he could not be seen, said yesterday that the 
conference was an informal affair and resulted in no official action of any sort. 

The governor asked for the conference because he thought Sheriff Cruse could tell 
him best how the chances are for getting the remaining troops out of the county. 
That the chances are not good is evident from the fact that the mounted patrols, the 
only guardsmen remaining are prepared for an indefinite stay. 

The sheriff says he enjoyed the conference greatly, that he returns with a high 
opinion of the governor's judgment and of the governor personally. 

Some of the lower State papers said that the conference resulted in the governor's 
requesting Ihe removal of the Waddell-Mahon men. The sheriff denies this. 

The sheriff says that there is much feeling in lower Michigan over the cost of bring- 
ing the troops to the copper country, though that some people who look into the situa- 
tion calmly consider it was a good investment as it cost little more than twice as much 
as one State encampment and gave the men as much experience as half a dozen such 
mobilizations. 

The board of supervisors of Keweenaw County did not authorize 
the employment of Waddell men. On September 1, Sheriff Hep ting 
told Maj. A. H. Gansser, commanding a regiment of militia at the Mo- 
hawk and Ahmeek mines, that he would not appoint Waddell men 
even if he should be ordered by the supervisors to do so. No Waddell 
men were employed in Ontonagon County. 

A circular, issued by the Waddell-Mahon Corporation, "an organi- 
zation that specializes in labor disputes," and sent to corporations 
throughout the country that have large numbers of employees, says: 

As an evidence of our ability as strike breakers, we invite your attention to the 
labor difficulties now ensuing along the copper range of the Upper Peninsula of 
Michigan between the Calumet & Hecla Copper Co., the Commonwealth Copper 
Co., the Quincy Copper Co., et al., and the Western Federation of Miners. In amount 
of capital and number of men involved this strike is the most important of the present 
year. We point with pardonable pride to the fact that this corporation has been 
selected by Sheriff James A. Cruse, of Houghton County — the storm center of the 
strike — to aid him in maintaining the integrity of the law. We are now engaged 
in "policing" the 1,019 square miles of territory contained in Houghton County. 
We are safeguarding the property of the mine owners against intrusion and violence. 
We are also protecting the lives and the homes of the 80.098 men, women, and children 
of Houghton County against overt acts. The Western Federation of Miners is doomed 
to inevitable disaster and defeat in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We make 
this prediction at this time, and if you will follow the story of the strike as it appears 
in the daily newspapers, and particularly in the Boston News Bureau, the well-known 
financial organ, which has a special correspondent on the ground, you will see that 
our prediction will be fulfilled daily. We are sure of defeating the Western Federation 
of Miners in this operation because we have met and defeatedthem before. Last year, 
when the agitators of this union sought to paralyze the copper industry of Nevada 
and Utah, we were retained by the Utah Copper Co. and the Nevada Consolidated 
Copper Co., and broke the great strikes at Bingham Canyon, Utah, and at Ely and 
McGill, Nev. We ask yon to watch the progress of the present strike, because we 
know it will be a triumph for law and order, a triumph for the mine owners, and will 



60 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

furnish still another evidence of the success we have always met with in breaking 
strikes. We ask you to judge us by results. 

On September 29, guards employed through the Ascher Detective 
Agency of New York began to arrive in the district. About 30 
arrived on that day, 30 on September 30, and 60 on October 1. 
They were distributed to the mines of companies subsidiary to the 
Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. in the upper part of Houghton County. 

INJUNCTIONS AGAINST PICKETING. 

On September 20 Judge P. H. O'Brien, of the State circuit court, 
issued an injunction restraining the Western Federation of Miners, 
their officers, many of their members who were named, and "each 
and every person affiliated with the said Western Federation of 
Miners as a member thereof," from committing various acts com- 
plained of in the bill of complaint filed by the mining companies. 
The injunction said the bill stated, among other things, that the 
defendants "are combining and confederating with others to injure 
said complainants touching the matters set forth in said bill," and 
that their "actions and doings in the premises are contrary to law, 
equity, and good conscience." The injunction commanded the 
defendants, "their aiders, abettors, agents, counsellors, and all others" 
acting with them to desist and refrain — 

From in any manner interfering with, molesting, or disturbing any person or persons 
now in the employ of said complainants above mentioned or any of them, and from in 
any manner interfering with, molesting, or disturbing any person or persons who may 
desire to enter the employment of the said complainants, or any of them, by way of 
threats, personal violence, intimidation, or by any means whatsoever, calculated 
or intended to prevent, against their will, such persons or any of them from enter- 
ing or continuing in the employment of said complainants or any of them, or calcu- 
lated or intended to induce, against their will, any employees of said complainants, or 
any of them, to leave the employment of said complainants, or any of them, or to desist 
or refrain from working for said complainants, or any of them, either temporarily or 
permanently. 

From "picketing" in or about or in the vicinity of the mines, works, properties, or 
premises or any thereof of the said complainants or any of them, or on or near the high- 
ways or ways used by the employees of said complainants or any of them, in passing 
to or from their work, or at or near or in the locality of the homes or residences of the 
said employees or any of them. 

From in any manner interfering with the free access of the employees of said com- 
plainants or any of them from their homes to the premises of said complainants or any 
of them, and the free return of said employees to their homes. 

From gathering and parading in large numbers or in any numbers at or in the vicin- 
ity of the premises of said complainants or any of them, or on the highways or other 
ways along and over which the employees of said complainants or any of them pass to 
or from their work or about or in the vicinity of the localities of the homes or residences 
of the said employees or any of them, during the morning or evening hours when the 
employees of said complainants or any of them, are going to or returning from their 
work. 

From impeding, obstructing, molesting, or disturbing the employees of the said 
complainants or any of them by threats, violence, insults, gatherings, parades, or any 
form of intimidation whatsoever, or by any acts of any kind calculated or intended 
as or for intimidation of the said employees or any of them. 

From doing any other act or thing whatsoever in furtherance of any combination or 
conspiracy to cause the employees of complainants or any of them, or any other person, 
against their will, to desist or refrain from working in the employment of the said 
complainants or any of them. 

All of which we strictly command you to observe until the further order of this 
court in the premises. 

Judge O'Brien was severely criticised in the Miners' Bulletin and 
by members of the Western Federation of Miners for issuing this 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 61 

injunction. The order that was most criticised was that forbidding 
picketing even when no force was used, and this order, it was claimed, 
was contrary to judicial decisions elsewhere which permitted peace- 
ful picketing during strikes. The injunction, however, was obeyed 
by the strikers, and they discontinued picketing parades until 
September 29, when on application of the defendants Judge O'Brien 
dissolved the injunction. Thereafter there were early morning 
picketing parades in various locations throughout the district. 

On October 8, on application of the mining companies, the State 
supreme court reinstated and continued in force the injunction 
which Judge O'Brien had issued on September 20 and had dissolved 
on September 29. The supreme court order modified Judge 
O'Brien's injunction to the extent that peaceful meetings and parad- 
ing were not prohibited. On the same date the supreme court 
issued an order to Judge O'Brien to attend a hearing on November 4 
to show cause why a mandamus overruling his writ dissolving the 
injunction should not be issued against him. This order of the 
supreme court was secured by Allen F. Rees, attorney for the Calumet 
& Hecla and subsidiary companies, and acting attorney for the other 
companies. 

On October 23 Judge P. H. O'Brien issued an order to the deputy 
sheriff, undersheriff, and all deputy sheriffs of Houghton County. 
The order said that it had been made to appear to the court that the 
order of the supreme court, dated October 8, had been " openly dis- 
regarded and ignored" by the defendants, the Western Federation 
of Miners or members thereof; that except in a few instances the 
names of the persons who had violated the order could not be identi- 
fied or their names learned, and that it had been made to appear to 
the court that further violations of the supreme court's order might 
be committed by persons unknown and unidentified. Judge O'Brien 
continued: 

Therefore, you, the said sheriff of the said county of Houghton, the undersheriff of 
said county, and all deputy sheriffs of the said county of Houghton, are hereby di- 
rected and commanded that, with such power and assistance as may be necessary to 
use, you, and each of you, do enforce the said writ of injunction and order of the 
court in the premises, by preventing violations of the said writ of injunction and of 
each and every provision thereof, and further that you, the said sheriff, undersheriff, 
and deputies, and all such assistants as may be deemed necessary by you, to that end, 
do attach the bodies of the defendants, members of the said Western Federation of 
Miners, or others enjoined and restrained by the said writ of injunction according to 
the terms and provisions thereof, who may be found by you, or any of you, and in the 
view of you, or any of you, in acts of violation of the said writ of injunction, and forth- 
with, or as soon thereafter as may be, to bring the persons whose bodies are so attached, 
before the said court to answer for such misconduct. 

And you are further directed and commanded that in the event that such person! 
whose bodies may be attached by virtue of this order, cannot, for any reason, be brought 
forthwith before said court, thai each of such persons whose bodies maybe so attached, 
be let to bail by the said sheriff in the sum of $200, conditioned for his appearance 
before the said court upon the first day upon which said court shall thereafter be in 
session . 

Under a blanket writ issued by Judge O'Brien at midnight October 
23 the militia and deputy sheriffs arrested 141 men at Allouez mine 
and 68 at the Mohawk mine, on the charge of violating the order 
of the supreme court. The men were brought on street cars to 
Houghton and a hearing was set for the afternoon of the day of their 
arrest, October 24. A. A. Kerr, attorney for the Western Federa- 
tion oi Miners, objected to the proceedings, and moved that the men 



62 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

be dismissed. He called the proceedings an attempt to imprison 
men before proof of guilt. The names of many of the defendants 
being unknown to the officers the court stated that they should 
answer to their names at the call of the sheriff. Judge O'Brien an- 
nounced that he would permit them to go on their own recognizance, 
but that he did not believe bail was necessary and that he did not 
intend to punish any man in advance of a hearing. He also directed 
that in future violations of the injunction the sheriff could arrest the 
violators and then release them on their own recognizance to appear 
in court at a stated time. He further said: 

I think the court has the power to enforce its decrees by the method adopted in 
this case. There may be no authorities precedent, but it does not follow that the 
power does not exist in the court. Under the showing it seemed to me that if the 
injunction was to be enforced at all some process similar to this must be adopted. 
This is a supreme court injunction and this court must enforce it. laying aside what- 
ever the private opinion of this court may be. There is no doubt that the injunction 
will be enforced. It is the duty of every citizen and inhabitant to obey it not merely 
in letter but in spirit. Law and order must be maintained or the Republic can not last, 
The men on strike are most interested in showing they are law-abiding citizens and 
willing to do their duty as citizens and the inhabitants of this county. 

Addressing the men arrested at Allouez, Judge O'Brien said: 

This court does not want to interfere with your liberty, but order and liberty should 
go hand in hand. The working class should respect this injunction. Do not interfere 
with men going to work. They have that right and the court will protect them in it. 
Respect the writ. I ask you to bear this in mind and tell the other strikers. Law 
and order come before even the solution of this industrial problem. 

The 141 men who had been arrested at Allouez were then dismissed 
and there was a hearing of the men arrested at Mohawk. In addressing 
these men, the judge repeated in substance what he had told the men 
arrested at Allouez, and said, ''You are permitted to parade, but you 
must not interfere with men going to work." He warned them, say- 
ing: "The supreme court says you have no right to picket. Whether 
this order is right or wrong, obey it. You have no right to call men 
scabs"; and further said, "You should recognize the absolute futility 
of attempting to evade the injunction." 

On November 9 the militia arrested 99 strikers and women in 
Calumet, on the charge of violating the injunction. 

STRIKE BREAKERS BROUGHT IN. 

In September mining was done by the three largest companies, the 
Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., the Copper Range Consolidated Co., 
and the Quincy Mining Co. At all of the other mines work was still 
entirely suspended. At the Quincy mines the number that returned 
to work was comparatively small. At the Copper Range mines there 
was a larger number, and at the Calumet & Hecla mines a much 
larger number. By the end of September the production of the 
Calumet & Hecla mines was stated by company officials to be 40 per 
cent of the normal output, but officials of the Western Federation 
of Miners alleged that this statement was much exaggerated. 

The first strike breakers brought into the district were brought by 
the Quincy Mining Co., and arrived at Hancock on the morning of 
September 19. These men were engaged by the Austro-American 
Labor Agency, 89 First Street, New York. They were Germans, and 
few of them could read English. The " statement of labor contract" 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 63 

furnished to each showed that they were engaged to work under- 
ground in copper mines for the Quincy Mining Co., at $2.50 per day, 
9 hours a day, and each was to pay the company, out of his earnings 
during the first six months, the cost of his transportation from New 
York, $24.50. Following is a copy of the " contract" : 

[Telephone, Orchard 3685. Frank & Nemerofsky, Props. Austro-American Labor Agency. 89 First 
Street, near First Street "L" Station, New York.] 

STATEMENT OF LABOR CONTRACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 700 OF THE LAWS OF 

1910. 

Name of employer Quincy Mining Co. 1 

Address of employer 32 Broadway, N. Y. 1 

Name of employee Mike Thomas. 2 

Address of employee 152 Ridge. 2 

Nature of work to be performed Untorirdiech in der Kupfer Mine. 1 

Hours of labor 9. 1 

Wages offered $2.50 per tag. 1 

Destination of persons employed Hancock, Mich. l 

Terms of transportation $24.50 abezorgen, nach 6 monathe re~ 

turniert. 1 

Remarks Strike, 1 50 cents per month for doctor.* 

If more than one person is engaged, a list of names and addresses will be found 
attached. 
New York, 9/16 » 1913 » 
English, German, Hungarian, Slovak, Italian, Swedish, Polish. 

Rest of contract printed. 

Identical contracts were seen by an agent of the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics. None of them were signed, but all of them bore the fol- 
lowing names and addresses written in pencil and apparently in the 
same handwriting : 

Mike Thomas, 152 Ridge. Karl Kamp, 323 Wash. 

Emil Rein, 323 Wash. Karl Niermann, 323 Wash. 

Horace Joseph, 343 23d St. Adolf Rosenfeld. 3 St. 

Joseph Kuerfers, 323 Wash. Lorenz Mascher. 323 Wash. 

Franz Isigkeit, 323 Wash. Karl Werner, 323 Wash. 

Franz Mock, Essex St. Paul Schmidt. 323 Wash. 

The items on the " contract" were printed in seven different lan- 
guages, but the blanks were filled out in German, most of them by 
typewriting, but the word "strike" was written in English, probably 
to comply with the law in New York, but evidently intended to de- 
ceive the Germans who could not read English. 

Thirty-seven men started from New York, but six of them left the 
train on the way to Hancock. The 31 who arrived at Hancock 
reached there in a car over a spur track to the Quincy mines at 2 a. m,, 
September 19. According to an admission of Charles L. Lawton, 
general manager of the Quincy Mining Co., made to an agent of the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, they were kept confined in the railroad 
coach several hours. Then they were escorted to a shaft house by 
soldiers and Waddell men. Gen. P. L. Abbey and other officers of 
the National Guard were present. There were present also a large 
body of strikers near enough to be seen by the newcomers. 

On the same day, before any of the men from New York went to 
work, 14 of them broke away from the mine and went to some of the 
strikers and told them that they had not known that they were coming 

» Typewritten. 2 Written in pencil. 



64 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

to a place where there was a strike, and did not know it until they 
arrived and saw the soldiers and in the background the strikers. 
The 14 men went to the headquarters of the federation in Hancock, 
where they made the same statements, and 12 of them put the state- 
ment in the form of an affidavit, a copy of which follows: 

£tate op Michigan, County of Houghton, ss: 

We, the undersigned, depose and say that we have been hired by the Austro- 
American Agency, New York City, to work in the mines of the Quincy Mining Co., 
at Hancock, Mich., with the understanding that there is no strike on in the district. 
On September 19, 1913, at our arrival to Hancock, we were locked into a coach from 
2 o'clock a. m. until quarter after 4 o'clock, and then we were taken to the Quincy 
mine location. On September 19, 1913, we seen by the thousands of strikers parading 
on the county road. Then we found out that we were hired under misrepresentation 
by the agency who shipped us here. And furthermore say that we were not held 
by the Western Federation of Miners at their headquarters at Kansankoti Hall, Han- 
cock, Mich., against our will or any other way, and that we are not willing to work 
in the Quincy mine while the strike is on, and therefore we came to the Kansankoti 
Hall to get protection against the Quincy Mining Co., as we were in the belief that 
we would be forced to work in the mines under conditions against our will. 
Deponents further saith not. 

Adolf Rosenfeld. . Josef Curverz. 

Karl Kamp. Frank Mock. 

Mike Thomas. Karl Niermann. 

Emil Rein. Paul Schmidt. 

Brimo Jacobs. Frank Isivkeit. 

Karl Werner. Lorenz Mascher. 

Witnesses: 

John Kiiskila. 
William Kangas. 
Andrew Pyhtila. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 20th day of September, A. D. 1913. 

John Kiiskila, 
Notary Public, Houghton County, Mich. 
My commission expires November 17, 1916. 

Several armed Waddell men came to the federation hall to find the 
men who had left the mine. The Waddell men raised quite a dis- 
turbance and arrested one man, but they did not find the men they 
wanted, as these men, apprehending trouble, had left the village. 

During the latter part of September strike breakers were engaged 
through the Austro-American Labor Agency, 28 South Canal Street, 
Chicago, and the Chicago Commissary Co. and Employment Agency, 
642 West Madison Street, Chicago. On September 29 an affidavit 
was made by 24 men employed through the Austro-American Labor 
Agency for the Quincy Mining Co. They swore that the agent of 
the agency informed them that there was no trouble or strike at the 
place where they were to work, that on arrival at the Quincy mine 
they were guarded by deputies and soldiers and not permitted to 
leave the bunk house and boarding house at the mine, and that they 
were otherwise mistreated. The affidavit follows: 

State of Michigan, County of Houghton, ss: 

We, the undersigned, being duly sworn, depose and say that we reside in the city 
of Chicago, State of Illinois; that we went into the Austrian- American Employment 
Agency and the agent asked us if we ever worked in the copper mines. We told 
him that some of us worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. We asked him whether 
there was any trouble or strike in the district where he was going to ship us. and he 
answered us that there was no trouble or strike in the district, and told us to come 
into his office at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. At 4 p. m. he told us that he had a good 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 65 

railroad job for us that would pay $2.10 to $2.50 a day, and the board would cost us 
$4 a week, and the eompany would pay us every two weeks. Then he handed us a 
slip of paper and said: "If you don't like to work in the mines, you can work on sur- 
face or on railroad." 

On the 25th day of September, 1913, we left Chicago, 111., and arrived on the fol- 
lowing Friday, and were met by eight soldiers, who came into the car at Quincy Mills, 
to our best information. We asked the agent who accompanied us what the soldiers 
came to meet us for, and he said, "Don't be afraid." When we arrived at the board- 
ing house we were presented a piece of paper for our signatures, and we inquired of 
the employment agent why we were to sign our names on the paper, and we were 
informed that we were to sign the pledge not to join or belong to any labor union or 
unions. 

On Friday, the day of our arrival, we did not go down into the mine to work, but 
we were taken underground on Saturday following, and we worked underground 
shoveling rock and dirt and pushing big heavy cars; we were frequently told to get 
busy and get more on the cars; that the other miners had rilled 16 cars per day. 

We were told to work again, but we refused to do so, because we had found out 
that there was a strike, and we did not come to break the strike. 

We further depose and say that our breakfast consisted of two boiled eggs, two 
slices of bread, and a cup of water supposed to be coffee; and our dinner consisted of 
two cheese sandwiches, a couple of soda crackers, and a cup of colored water supposed 
to be coffee; and our supper consisted of tomato soup, potatoes, two pieces of ham- 
burg steak, boiled beans, and a cup of so-called coffee. And we further depose and 
say that we were fed like a bunch of dogs. 

On Sunday morning there were some scrambled eggs placed at one end of the table, 
and the fellows at that end ate them all, and the rest of us at the other end of the table 
did not get anything but bread and so-called coffee, and we asked for more eggs from 
the deputy, and we were told by him that "If you are not satisfied, you can go to 
hell." 

After that we went upstairs and the deputy followed us, and one of us went to talk 
to him and he pulled him down from the step outside and punched and beat him. 
After he was done with the fellow he jumped on one Meyer, and the said deputy 
was not able to lick him and went to get eight more deputies in the boarding house, 
and when they came in one of them shot in the house through the ceiling, and then 
he hit Meyer on his forehead with a gun and told him to wash his head, which was 
bleeding, and he answered and said that he was not going to do it and wanted to show 
it to the superintendent of the mine, but he was taken into the doctor's office to dress 
his wound . 

On Monday morning we were going to work to earn enough money to get back, 
but when we found out that in our dinner pails there was only a piece of stinking 
bologna, two slices of bread, an apple, three soda crackers, and so-called coffee, we 
told them that we were not going to work, because we were hungry and did not have 
enough to eat in order to work, and have found out for sure that there is a strike in the 
district and did not want to be strike breakers. 

We further depose and say, that on Monday we were confined in the boarding house, 
guarded by deputies, and kept as prisoners. The superintendent of the mine came 
and told us that if we would go to work the company will furnish us good board and 
lodging. We told him that we don't want to work. After that he took our names and 
requested us to go to work again, but we refused. Then the guards started to make 
trouble again. They passed all kinds of remarks and told us to go back if we had good 
shoes to walk with, and we answered and said that we are going to walk back, but we 
are not going to work as long as there is a strike. 

The superintendent told us to wait until 4 o'clock in the afternoon in order to pay us. 
He came into the bunk house, made us line up one by one in the bunk house and let 
us enter in order to pass into the boarding house, and he handed us an empty envelope. 
Then we were taken by bunches of five outside of the boarding house and our pictures 
were taken and we were told to get out of there. We met a fellow on the road who 
took us into the union hall. 

We further depose and say that we were guarded by deputies and soldiers in said 
bunk house and boarding house and were not permitted to go anywhere out of said 
bunk house and boarding house, against our will, and were like prisoners while we were 
at Quincy mine. 

Albert Meyer, Stenly Deds, John Portko, Stenly Buttons, Pit Edort, Adam 
Lurick, Stulioz Buskoz, Frank Drzesviecki, Henry Heorft, Fred Miller, 
Otto Jaspr, Mik Smith, Pete Morris, Tarn Wazle, Golm Kurta, Frank 
Fhishel, Joo Remen, Chas. Marks, Styf Supski, Wm. Thomas, Alfred 
Funkel, John Pisolko, Adam Kulig, John Bielash. 
S. Doc. 381, 62-3 5 



66 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public, in and for Houghton County, 
Michigan, this 29th day of September, A. D. 1913. 

John Kiiskila, 
Notary Public, Houghton County, Mich. 

My commission expires November 17, 1916. 

At the same time the following affidavit was made by seven men 
employed through the Chicago Commissary Co. & Employment 
Agency for the Quincy Mining Co. : 

State op Michigan, County of Houghton, ss: 

We, the undersigned, being duly sworn, depose and say, that we reside in the city 
of Chicago, State of Illinois. That we went into the Chicago Commissary Co. & 
Employment Agency inquiring if there was any work to be had and we were informed 
that there is work in Michigan, either in the mines or on the railroad. We asked is 
there any trouble or strike in the district and were informed that there was no labor 
trouble or strike in that district, and we were promised to be paid at the rate of $2.50 
a day, board would cost $5 a week, and the company pay every two weeks. 

Stani Skiner, 
Frank Fvode, 
Emil Braun, 
Yachnal Miller, 
Fred Bauer. 
Zot Bolepski, 
Tom Zacki. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public in and for Houghton County, 
Mich., this 29th day of September, A. D. 1913. 

John Kiiskila, 
Notary Public, Houghton County, Mich. 

My commission expires November 17, 1916. 

The Houghton and Calumet Daily Gazette of October 1 said: 

The strike breakers imported by the Quincy during the past two weeks all quit work 
yesterday morning and were paid off. They numbered about 75 and they all walked 
off the location toward Hancock as soon as paid. Just what their intentions are could 
not be learned yesterday afternoon. 

During October many strike breakers were brought in by the Calu- 
met & Hecla Mining Co., and some for other companies. Some of 
these men came from western points by way of Duluth, but most of 
them came from Chicago. The Houghton and Calumet Daily Ga- 
zette of October 28 said that over 1,200 new men had been brought 
into the district up to that time. 

The following affidavit was made October 28 by men that were 
brought from Fargo, N. Dak. : 
County of Houghton, State of Michigan, ss: 

Barney McAllister and John McManus, being first duly sworn, depose and say that 
they are residents of Fargo, N. Dak; that on the 21st day of October, 1913, they went to 
the Western Employment Agency office in Fargo, where they could get a ticket to the 
Michigan mines for $2. They only intended to go as far as Superior, Wis., where they 
intended to stay. ' ' One of the deputies at the station stepped up to us and we told him 
we wanted to get something to eat and would like to stay over night as we were tired." 
He said, drawing his gun: "You have to go to Calumet." Then we were taken to the 
cars. We were guarded until we got to Calumet where the train stopped. We were 
taken from the cars by five or six deputies, put in an auto and taken to one of the 
mining camps. 

Deponents further saith not. 

John McManus. 
B. McAllister. 

Sworn to and subscribed before me, a notarv public, this 28th day of October, 
1913. 

John Malnar, Notary Public. 
My commission expires June 13, 1915. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 67 

VIOLENCE DUPING THE STRIKE. 

After the rioting which occurred on the first two days of the strike, 
when 16 men who tried to go to work were injured by the strikers 
badly enough for hospital treatment, there was but little disorder for 
three weeks, or until the middle of August, when work was resumed 
to some extent in the mines of the three largest companies. Com- 
plaints were made by men who had not joined the Western Federation 
of Miners that they had been threatened by federation men with 
bodily injury if they should return to work, and some men who had 
joined the federation asserted that they had by threats been coerced 
into joining it and that they were ready to give up their membership 
cards. Unquestionably some men were intimidated by members of 
the federation. 

The situation was so quiet during the first three weeks of the strike 
that on August 11 the two batteries of artillery and one of the brass 
bands were sent home. From this time the military force was gradually 
reduced from the original number, 2,565, to about 500 in the latter 
part of September. The soldiers were not held in high esteem by the 
strikers, but were not execrated so much as were the Waddell " gun- 
men" or the deputy sheriffs, who were regarded as "scabs." * The 
soldiers at first guarded the properties of the mining companies, 
though the strikers showed no disposition to injure property. As 
the soldiers were gradually sent home and as the number of deputies 
was increased, the duty of protecting property was left almost entirely 
to the deputies, and the soldiers gave most of their attention to fol- 
lowing parades of strikers to see that men who wanted to go to work 
were not prevented. When work was resumed at some of the mines 
only day shifts worked, and the strikers got out in large numbers 
early every morning to meet the men going to work and try to per- 
suade them not to work. If persuasion failed, the men were denounced 
as "scabs" and traitors to the cause of labor. If they could not thus 
be intimidated, they were in some cases roughly handled or beaten. 
As much as possible the soldiers and deputies stopped the disorder 
that occurred during this early morning "picketing." Crowds of 
strikers were kept constantly on the move, and the picketing parades 
were closely attended by the soldiers. Frequently these parades were 
led by women, and a number of them were arrested for abusing men 
going to work, grabbing their dinner pails or otherwise creating a dis- 
turbance. Fifteen women were arrested one morning in Laurium vil- 
lage. Arrests were made under act 163, Public Laws of 1867, Com- 
piled Laws of 1897, section 11343, as follows: 

(11343.) That if any person or persons shall, by threats, intimidations, or other- 
wise, and without authority of law, interfere with, or in any way molest, or attempt 
to interfere with, or in any way molest, or disturb, without such authority, any me- 
chanic or other laborer in the quiet and peaceable pursuit of his lawful avocation, 
such person or persons shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 
by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be severally punished by fine of not less 
than $10 nor more than $100, or by imprisonment in the county jail where the offense 
shall have been committed, not less than one month nor more than one year, or by 
both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court; but if such punishment 
be by fine, the offender shall be imprisoned in such jail until the same be paid, not 
exceeding 90 days. 

Neither the soldiers nor the deputy sheriffs interfered with the 
parades after the hour men went to work in the mines unless they 
considered there were signs of disorder. In a number if instances, 



68 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTEICI STRIKE. 

however, clashes occurred on the streets between the soldiers and 
crowds of strikers, and in some cases the strikers were dispersed at 
the points of baronets, or by mounted soldiers riding through the 
crowds. Gen. Abbey justified this breaking up of crowds by the riot 
law of the State, sections 11334 to 11341 of the Compiled Laws of 
1897. The first three sections follow: 

(11334) Section 1. If any persons to the number of 12 or more, being armed with 
clubs or other dangerous weapons, or if any persons to the number of 30 or more, 
whether armed or not. shall be unlawfully, riotously, or tumultuously assembled in 
any city, township, or village, it shall be the duty of the mayor and each of the alder- 
men of such city, the supervisor of such township, the president and each of the trus- 
tees or members of the common council of such village, and of every justice of the 
peace living in such city, township, or village, and also of the sheriff of the county 
and his deputies, to go among the persons so assembled, or as near to them as may be 
with safety, and in the name of the people of this State to command all the persons 
so assembled immediately and peaceably to disperse. 

(11335) Sec 2. If the persons so assembled shall not, upon being so commanded, 
thereupon immediately and peaceably disperse, it shall be the duty of each of said 
magistrates and officers to command the assistance of all persons there present in 
seizing, arresting, and securing in custody the persons so unlawfully assembled so 
that they may be proceeded against for their offenses according to law. 

(11336) Sec 3. If any person present, being commanded by any of the magistrates 
or officers aforesaid to aid and assist in seizing and securing such rioters or persons 
so unlawfully assembled, or in suppressing such riot or unlawful assembly, shall refuse 
or neglect to obey such command, or when required by any such magistrate or officer 
to depart from the place of such riotous or unlawful assembly shall refuse or neglect 
so to do, he shall be deemed to be one of the rioters or persons unlawfully assembled, 
and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished accordingly. 

General Order Xo. 1. issued by Maj. A. H. Gansser, commanding 
the Third Regiment of Infantry, and dated Mohawk, Mich., August 
31, contained the following item: 

With the reduction of our military forces in the copper mines strike zone, the 
officers and men of this command are urged to redouble their vigilance, mindful of 
our mission. "To assist the civil authorities in the preservation of law and order 
and the safeguarding of life and property," mindful, too. that we are to perform this 
duty with firmness and kindness. Gen. Abbey directs that hostile crowds of more 
than 30 are to be peaceably dispersed. Rioters refusing to disperse are to be arrested, 
whether men. women, or children: this is to apply also to guard lines about mine 
properties. 

The soldiers were not kept under proper discipline. One of the 
first orders issued bv Gen. Abbev, General Order Xo. 3, dated July 
26, 1913, provided: 

Where such commanders of regiments find conditions warrant they may excuse 
applicants for limited time only. Not more than one man from any company, troop, 
or battery may be excused at the same time. 

Gen. Abbey himself admitted that this order was not enforced. 
The result was that crowds of privates were daily seen on the streets ; 
they visited saloons, and many of them became intoxicated, and some 
carried revolvers while they were hi an intoxicated condition. They 
were reported to have visited disorderly houses. 

On the night of August 12 a miner, a member of the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners, was shot by a corporal near the Quincy mine 
because of neglect to obey an order to halt. The bullet took effect 
in one of his knees and in the calf of his other leg. Later during the 
same night a private was waylaid by an unknown person at South 
Kearsarge, and he was so badly beaten on the head that he was uncon- 
scious for several hours. On August 13 a private, who had been 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 69 

kicked by a cavalry horse 10 days previously, died. No other sol- 
diers were injured during the strike. 

At Painesdale, about 5.30 p. m. on August 15, John Kollan, a 
striker, attempted to go to his boarding house by a short-cut path 
which had been used before the strike. A deputy sheriff, an em- 
ployee of the Copper Kange Consolidated Co., warned him not to go 
that way, and after a parley he went on. The deputy later asserted 
that Kollan threatened him, but this was denied. The deputy 
reported the matter to the man in charge of the Wad dell men, and 
they decided to arrest Kollan on a charge of intimidation. Two 
deputies and four Waddell men then went to the boarding house. 
One of them laid his hand on Kollan's shoulder and told him he was 
arrested, but he broke away and ran into the house. Several other 
men who were playing tenpins in the yard also ran in the house, and 
it is claimed that one of the deputies was hit in the head by a tenpin. 
Thereupon the Waddell men and deputies surrounded the house on 
two sides and began firing at the inmates through three windows on 
one side and the back door. They claim that a shot was fired from 
the house. When the firing began there were 15 people in the house, 
including two women and four children. Four men were shot, and a 
baby in its mother's arms was powder burned. Firing continued 
until the six men had exhausted the bullets in their revolvers. One 
of the men in the house, Diazig Tizan, was killed instantly, and one 
of the wounded men, Steve Putrict, died the next day. Another one 
of the wounded men was shot while he was sitting at a table eating 
supper. Neighbors later testified that the Waddell men and depu- 
ties, after shooting up the house, went into the street and gathered 
up stones and empty bottles and put them around the house to indi- 
cate that they had been used as missiles against them. These men 
then made a complete search of the house to find weapons, but did 
not find any. If a bullet was fired from the house no trace of it could 
be found, but the tracks of many bullets fired into the house were 
found in the walls. 

Anthony Lucas, prosecuting attorney of Houghton County, visited 
the scene of the shooting, and after an investigation denounced it as 
wanton murder, and called upon the sheriff, James A. Cruse, to 
arrest all of the six men. The sheriff, however, allowed them all to 
escape and for several days their whereabouts were unknown. They 
fled to an adjoining county, and an attorney called on Lucas and 
told him that they would be returned if the charge against them 
was reduced from murder in the first degree. Lucas refused to com- 
promise, and at the inquest the next week the men were present. 
After the inquest all six of them were indicted by a justice of the 
peace (who acts in such cases as a grand jury in other States) for 
murder in the second degree. The bond of each of the six men was 
placed at $5,000 for the indictment in each of two cases, making 
$10,000 bond required for each, and in default of bail they were 
committed to jail to await trial. Afterwards they were liberated 
on bail. 

On Sunday, August 17, when Diazig Tizan and Steve Putrict were 
buried, there was a great funeral parade of strikers at Calumet, and 
at the cemetery Federation leaders made speeches denouncing the 



70 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

brutality of the Waddell men and deputy sheriffs. In the parade 
were displayed placards bearing the following inscriptions: 

In memory of our murdered brothers. 

Our Lord said: Do not take what you can not give. 

Give not thy boughs of cedar; give back my life, oh times. 

As a result of a clash between deputy sheriffs and a body of strikers 
and women, a girl 14 years of age, named Margaret Frazakas, daughter 
of a widow, was shot in the head, at North Kearsarge. An early 
morning picket parade of strikers, women, and children, from 150 to 
200 in all, took place there on September 2. The soldiers prevented 
them from going near the mine, but while the soldiers were at 
breakfast the parade was stopped by 15 deputy sheriffs. When this 
occurred the paraders were going away from the mine and toward a 
county road, about 300 yards distant. The women and children 
were in front of the crowd when they were halted by the deputies at 
a crossroads. Epithets were passed between the crowd and the 
deputies, but no stones were thrown, clubs used, or arms fired, until 
the deputies began firing, and no shots were fired except by them. 
One of the deputies, a mine captain (foreman) gave the order to fire, 
and all of the deputies fired until they emptied their revolvers, about 
90 shots in all. One of the first shots struck Margaret Frazakas 
down, but marvelously no other person was hit. The course of three 
bullets in a house on the corner showed that some of the shots were 
low enough to have struck persons, and one of the shots that pierced 
the side of the house came within a foot or two of hitting a man and 
child inside. Doubtless, however, many of the shots were fired in 
the air, else it is hard to account for only one person being injured. 
The girl was struck above the right ear by a bullet, and part of her 
brains oozed out. For days she was supposed to be fatally wounded. 
She was taken to the hospital at Laurium, where she remained for 
weeks. Her recovery was considered to be one of the most remark- 
able instances of the kind on record. 

The deputies, after they had emptied their revolvers, did not take 
time to reload, but started to run, and they were pursued by the 
strikers, who not until then began to throw stones at them. They 
have not yet been brought to trial. 

In Keweenaw County, where there are two mines, and where the 
Western Federation of Miners was very strongly organized, there 
was but little disorder during the first two months of the strike. 
John Hepting, the sheriff, had only a few deputies, and those he 
appointed at first were members of the Western Federation of Miners. 

In July the local union of the federation granted written permission 
for members of the federation to continue as firemen at Mohawk and 
Ahmeek mines, to keep the pumps operating for the purpose of 
affording fire protection and providing electric lights at those mine 
locations. Trouble arose later at the Mohawk mine when the manage- 
ment attempted to require a master mechanic to attend the com- 
pressor pump for pumping out the water that was accumulating in 
the mine. The management brought nonfederation men from the 
company's stamp mill at Gay, 18 miles distant, to act as firemen. 
These men were intimidated by the strikers and left Mohawk because 
hey deemed it was unsafe for them to remain there. At Ahmeek 
also the federation firemen were withdrawn. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 71 

When the first Ascher men were brought in on the night of Sep- 
tember 29 some shooting occurred. They were brought in in a Pull- 
man car to Ahmeek mine. Sheriff John Hep ting and Prosecuting 
Attorney J. A. Hamilton of Keweenaw County investigated this 
shooting and reached the conclusion that the first shots were fired 
by men within the car. Thereupon they withdrew the blanket gun 
license which had been issued to the Ahmeek Mining Co. permitting 
employees of the company to carry arms. The prosecuting attorney 
stated that when these licenses had been issued the officers of the 
company had given a verbal promise to supply him with the names 
of those to be armed. He had required this promise because he 
feared that the company might bring in men from outside and arm 
them. These terms had not been kept by the company and there- 
fore the license was revoked. 

Gen. Abbey summoned the sheriff and prosecuting attorney to 
appear before him and expostulated with them about their with- 
drawal of the license for the guards at Ahmeek mine and said that 
this action would force the mine watchmen to carry their weapons 
openly. The result was the telegram to the governor, which follows : 

Eagle River, Mich., October 2, 1913. 
Hon. W. N. Ferris, 

Governor, Lansing, Mich. 
Dear Sir: Due to the stirring conditions existing in Allouez Township since Mon- 
day evening, Setember 29, 1 find the situation is entirely beyond my control. Private 
citizens passing along the county road through said township have been fired upon 
from ambush and after careful investigation have been unable to apprehend any of 
the offenders. Several persons have been shot — no one seriously injured as yet. At 
a special meeting of the board of supervisors, called this day for discussion of this 
matter, with advice of prosecuting attorney and board of supervisors, I deemed 
it advisable to notify you and ask your aid in handling the situation, which is beyond 
my control. 

John Hefting, 

Sheriff. 
J. A. Hamilton, 

Prosecuting Attorney. 
F. X. Kaiser, 

Clerk. 
S. R, Smith, 
Supervisor, Allouez Township. 
Wesley Clarke, 
Supervisor, Eagle Harbor Township. 
D. L. Vivian, 
Supervisor, Sherman Township. 

During October there was more disorder than during previous 
months. Most of it occurred at Allouez and other mines in the north- 
ern end of Houghton County and at Ahmeek and Mohawk mines in 
the southern end of Keweenaw County. On October 3, 24 artillery- 
men were sent to Ahmeek, which increased the military force in 
Keweenaw County to 75 mounted men. On October 6 a clerk em- 
ployed by the Ahmeek Mining Co., while passing a group of the 
strikers, was shot at twice. The second shot passed through his 
body. He stated that there were about 10 men in the party that 
fired on him, and that they fled when he fell. On October 15 Sheriff 
Hepting wrote to Gov. Ferris that in all Keweenaw County he was 
able to find only five men who would stand by him as deputies, 
protect the men who wanted to go back to work, and prevent violence. 



72 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

He also said that "he would be powerless without the aid of the troops, 
and without them the mines could not be operated. 

On the morning of October 8 Deputy Sheriff James M. Pollack, 
jr., was found in an unconscious and dying condition on the sidewalk 
leading from Houghton to Hurontown. He had a number of wounds 
in his scalp and a bullet hole in his head. He lived less than two 
hours and never regained consciousness. On the same morning 
Joseph Minerich, bleeding profusely from a wound in the abdomen, 
walked into a boarding house at Hurontown. He was taken to a 
hospital in Hancock and died the night of October 9. Until his 
death he maintained that no one else was implicated in the shooting. 
However, nine men suspected of having been with Minerich at the 
time of the shooting were arrested on the charge of murder. One of 
these men, named Luka Pease, a brother-in-law of Minerich, is alleged 
to have made a statement that he, Minerich, and another man were 
walking on the sidewalk toward Houghton, that Minerich said some- 
thing to Pollack which Pease did not hear, that thereupon Pollack 
shot Minerich in the stomach, and that while Pease was holding Pol- 
lack the latter was shot by Minerich. At the inquest a physician 
testified that in his opinion Pollack would not have been able to 
shoot anyone after he received the shot in his own brain. The case 
against the nine men arrested was set for hearing on October 29 before 
Judge Little. 

On October 23, 35 strike breakers were brought to Calumet. 
While the train was stopped at Hancock, snowballs and stones 
were thrown at the car conveying the men. All the windows in 
this car and some in other cars were broken. Seven men charged 
with stoning the train were arrested. One of them was Dan Sul- 
livan, president of District Union No. 16, Western Federation of 
Miners. 

The newspapers reported several alleged attempts to wreck rail- 
road trains in various parts of Houghton County by means of rails 
being spread or dynamite being placed on the tracks. This tam- 
pering with the tracks caused no injury, and the Miner's Bulletin 
claimed that it had been done to prejudice the public against the 
strikers, and that it was significant that the locomotive engineers 
knew just where to stop before running into danger. These inci- 
dents occurred after the agent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics had 
left the district. 

In Ontonagon County, where there are several small mines, the 
Western Federation of Miners was even more strongly organized 
than it was in Keweenaw County. As no mine workers tried to go 
back to work in Ontonagon County, there was no disorder of any 
kind until the middle of October, when the Winona mine was re- 
opened. The sheriff appointed only a few special deputies, and 
they were members of the federation. 

Considering the number of men involved in the strike, the length 
of time the struggle was continued, and the bitterness caused by 
bringing soldiers and Waddell men to the district, the strike was 
remarkably peaceful. The only persons killed were two of the 
strikers, who were wantonly shot down by Waddell men and depu- 
ties at Painesdale, and a deputy and striker, who killed each other 
near Hurontown. The leaders of the Western Federation of Miners 
in charge of the strike repeatedly warned the strikers against car- 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



73 



rying firearms and using intoxicants, and very few were arrested for 
these offenses. Undoubtedly many men that started to go back to 
work were intimidated and some abused and beaten. On the other 
hand, the deputy sheriffs and Waddell men acted with great bru- 
tality toward the strikers, and in many cases beat even women with 
clubs or night sticks. 

In many cases it would be impossible to determine who was the 
aggressor. The real facts could be ascertained only by a court with 
power to subpoena witnesses, and even then there would doubtless be 
miscarriages of justice. The only conclusion that one can reach is 
that some of the violence was caused by the strikers and for seme 
of it peace officers were responsible. 

One of the most remarkable features of the strike was that, in spite 
of the excitement and passion which prevailed, no property of the 
mining companies was injured by strikers and, in fact, none showed 
any disposition to injure property. 

During the course of the strike many of the strikers and some 
women were arrested on charges of intimidation or assault. When 
they were given hearings before justices of the peace, many of the 
cases were dismissed for want of sufficient evidence and in other cases 
the persons were released on peace bonds of from $100 to $300. Some 
of the accused persons were fined by the justices and some were bound 
over to the circuit court. Any person tried before a justice of the 
peace in Michigan has the right to demand a jury trial in the justice's 
court. In Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties there is no 
grand jury, but justices of the peace bind over to the circuit court all 
persons charged with serious offenses. 

The following table shows the number of persons charged with 
various offenses committed in connection with the strike who were 
given hearings before justices of the peace, according to a transcript 
of the various dockets, up to the dates mentioned: 



Court. 


Recorded 
to— 


Num- 
ber of 
per- 
sons. 


Dis- 
missed. 


Ac- 
quitted. 


Found 
guilty. 


Bound 
over. 


Ad- 
journed. 


Placed 
under 
peace 
bond. 


Justice Little's 

Justice O'Sullivan's 

Justice Eichkern's 

Judge Armit's 

Judge Jacolo's 

Judge Fisher's 

Judge Bartonen's 


Oct. 15 
Oct. 8 
Oct, 9 
Oct. 15 
Oct. 7 
Oct. 10 
Oct. 10 
Oct. 11 


43 
58 
35 
34 
27 
56 
2 
8 


12 
16 

8 
16 

4 
17 


1 

2 
2 


1 
7 
1 

4 


7 
11 
5 

2 

4 

7 


20 

27 

21 

7 

16 

26 

2 

4 


3 
3 


Justice Medlyn's 


1 






3 















263 


74 


7 


14 


39 


123 


6 



The following is a list of the charges against persons for offenses 
committed in connection with the strike, and the number of persons 
against whom each offense was charged up to the dates mentioned 
in the table: 

Males: 

Assault and battery 17 

Assault with intent to commit murder 2 

Assault with intent to do great bodily harm 19 

Attempt at destruction of life or property 6 

Carrying concealed weapons 10 

Creating noise and disturbance 10 



74 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Males — Concluded . 

Dnmk and disorderly 3 

Felonious assault 1 

Inciting riot 32 

Interfering wi th an officer 3 

Intimidation 56 

Loitering on sidewalks and street corners 1 

Murder 15 

No charge or not reported 7 

Resisting an officer 17 

Riotous assembly 5 

Simple assault. .- 3 

Slander , 1 

Threatening to kill and murder 4 

Unlawful assembly 1 

Using indecent language in presence of women 1 

Violation of ordinance No. 2, Red Jacket 1 

215 

Females: 

Assaul t and batter}' 7 

Assault with intent to do great bodily harm 1 

Inciting riot 5 

Intimidation '. 27 

Resisting an officer 6 

Simple assault 2 



48 

The 15 persons charged with murder include 4 Waddell men and 2 
deputy sheriffs charged with the murder of 2 strikers at Painesdale 
on August 15, and 9 men charged with the murder of Deputy Sheriff 
Pollack on October 8, when a striker also was killed. Of the 263 
cases, all were against strikers or strike sympathizers, except the 6 
men charged with murder at Painesdale. When the strikers mis- 
treated the men that went to work during the strike they were ar- 
rested and fined, imprisoned, or bound over. But when peace offi- 
cers, deputy sheriffs, soldiers, or Waddell men engaged in conflicts 
with the strikers and the officers were the aggressors in beating or 
riding down the strikers, there was no one to arrest the officers. 
This accounts for the fact that practically all of the cases in the 
courts of justices of the peace were against strikers. 

The September term of the Houghton County circuit court was 
opened on September 2, and continued until September 20. Judge 
P. H. O'Brien presided. During this term the most serious cases 
against strikers were tried. 

Louis Foder, charged with assault with a pistol with intent to 
kill a deputy sheriff, admitted that the pistol was discharged in a 
scuffle, but claimed that it was accidental, and after the judge, jury, 
and prosecuting attorney had inspected Foder's home, where the 
shooting had occurred, the judge, on motion of the prosecuting 
attorney, directed a verdict of not guilty. 

Joseph Mihelcich was charged with malicious attempt to destroy 
property. He had been arrested while passing a mine shaft, and 
some pieces of dynamite were found in his coat pocket. He claimed 
that he had been using dynamite for blowing up stumps in a farmer's 
field, who had promised him the wood from the stumps. In this 
case the jury reported a disagreement. 



MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 75 

George Males, charged with assault with intent to do great bodily 
harm less than murder, in resisting an officer, was convicted only of 
simple assault, and appealed his case. 

The statutes of Michigan provide that in each county the sheriff, 
county treasurer, county clerk, and judge of probate shall select the 
names of persons to act as petit jurors. The panel of 36 jurors that 
served during these trials was composed largely of employees of 
mining companies, and nearly all of the 36 were connected directly 
or indirectly with the companies. The only other striker tried 
during the September term of court was charged with carrying a 
concealed weapon, but was discharged. About 10 cases against 
strikers were continued over to the next term. These cases were 
those of persons charged with carrying concealed weapons, intimida- 
tion, and resisting an officer. 

At the October term of the circuit court in Keweenaw County 
three cases connected with the strike were tried. The defendants in 
two cases were acquitted, and the other case was nolle prossed. 

ARBITRATION PROPOSALS UNAVAILING. 

The law of Michigan which provided for the settlement of strikes 
by a State board of arbitration, act 238. Public Laws of 1889. was 
repealed by the legislature of 1911. 

The mining companies having refused even to acknowledge receipt 
of the communication from officials of the Western Federation of 
Miners, dated July 14, 1913. it was, of course, useless for the federa- 
tion to ask the managers for a conference to arrange terms of arbitra- 
tion. Two arbitration propositions made by the governor of Michigan 
and one made by the United States Department of Labor were 
accepted by the federation officials but were flatly refused by the 
mine managers. The managers held semiweekly meetings to discuss 
the strike situation and on all matters relating to the strike they 
acted together. All three propositions for arbitration were rejected 
by the managers on the ground that they would not deal with the 
Western Federation of Miners, for the reason, they asserted, that it 
was a lawless organization. They also claimed that there would have 
been no strike if their employees had not been incited to strike by 
agitators from Denver. 

On July 29, six days after the strike began. C. E. Mahoney. vice 
president, and A. A. Kerr, attorney in Michigan for the federation, 
called on Gov. Woodbridge N. Ferris at Lansing and requested that 
he endeavor to arrange for holding a "joint conference of both sides" 
to the controversy, with the view of bringing about a settlement of 
the strike. In compliance with this request Gov. Ferris telegraphed 
Gen. Abbey as follows: 

Lansing, Mich., July 29, 1915. 
Gen. P. L. Abbey. 

Michigan National Guard, Calumet. Mich. 
Present the following message to mine owners and employees involved in strike: 
■"Mine owners and employees involved in strike: The welfare of this great Common- 
wealth demands a speedy settlement of your industrial dispute. As governor of 
Michigan. I offer my best services in joint conference of both sides to be held at Lao- 
sine at earliest possible date." 

WOODBRTDGE N. FERRIS. 



76 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

On July 30 Gen. Abbey presented the governor's proposition to the 
managers at their meeting at the Houghton Club and, later in the day, 
presented it to officials of the Western Federation of Miners. The fed- 
eration officials accepted the proposition, but the managers rejected 
it, their reply being as follows: 

Gen. P. L. Abbey, 

Commanding Michigan National Guard. 

Sir: In response to the message from Ms excellency the governor of Michigan to the 
mine owners and employees involved in strike, presented to us through you at a con- 
ference held this day for that purpose, and to which we have given careful considera- 
tion, _ we, who are the managers and superintendents of the mines affected by the 
existing situation, on behalf of the several companies and their numerous stockholders, 
as well as on behalf of the employees, who in a large majority have been and are not 
only willing but anxious to continue at work, desire to express to you, and through you 
to the governor, our high appreciation of the offer of his services in the pending dispute 
and pur deep obligation to him therefor. 

With the utmost respect for him personally, and for the high office which he holds 
with so much honor to the State of Michigan, and with great regret that the circum- 
stances seem to us to render it necessary, we feel obliged to say that for the welfare and 
good name of the State as a whole, for the best interests of our employees, for the 
interests of this entire community, and as making for continued and lasting industrial 
peace and quiet in this district, we should not and can not enter into or take any part 
in a joint conference with the leaders o* representatives of the Western Federation of 
Miners, which organization is solely responsible for the conditions now existing, nor 
with any representatives of those who are actively engaged in the strike, and who 
falsely assume to represent the great body of our employees. 

In thus stating our position we feel that it is due to his excellency, as well as to 
yourself, that we should also state our reasons for this conclusion. 

The copper mining district of Michigan has operated its mines on an extensive 
scale for upward of 50 years. In all that time there has been no general strike among 
the employees. There has never been any serious labor disturbance or dispute. 
The few which have occurred locally at some mine locations have been speedily and 
satisfactorily adjusted between the managements and the employees. There have 
been satisfaction and contentment on the part of those employed and good feeling 
and mutual respect between employers and employees. We believe it can be said 
truthfully that in this mining district the conditions of labor, the consideration for 
the employees, the means taken for their comfortable housing, for their general wel- 
fare, for their health, for the education of their children, and their fair and generous 
treatment in every respect have not been excelled anywhere in any industry of like 
kind. 

The history of the Western Federation of Miners is well known. That organiza- 
tion was directly responsible for the strike in the Coeur d'Alene district, the Home- 
stake strike, the strike on the Mesaba Range in 1907, the recent strike in the Porcupine 
district in Ontario, the strikes at Bingham and at El Paso, and others which may be 
recalled. Each of those strikes was accompanied by lawlessness, riots, assaults, vio- 
lence, destruction of property, and bloodshed. They resulted in the bloody riots of 
Colorado; the blowing up of the railroad station, with great loss of life; the assassina- 
tion of Superintendent Collins of the Smuggler Union; the blowing up of Mr. Bulke- 
ley Welles of the Smuggler Union; the murder of ex-Gov. Steunenberg of Idaho. 
Some of these strikes were under the leadership of some of the leaders of the present 
one. All of them were organized, incited, instituted, and called by the Western 
Federation of Miners. 

About the year 1907 this federation, with such a record behind it, began to send 
their organizers from the West into this district. They have carried on a systematic 
attempt to secure the complete domination of the mine laborers of this district. 

They have attempted to breed and engender discontent among some 20,000 employ- 
ees of the mining industry, and it is but natural that they secured many recruits. 
For a. long time it has been definitely known that as soon as their leaders felt that 
they were strong enough a strike would be called. 

It is reliably known to us that the federation succeeded only in a small measure in 
attracting to itself the employees of the mining industry in this district. The majority, 
and on reliable information the large majority, of the employees declined to affiliate 
with them. On direct information, a very large number believed that they had no 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. i 7 

grievance to strike for and did not wish to strike; on reliable information, the greater 
part of them desired to continue at work and now desire to resume work. 

On the 23d of July the strike called by the officials of the Western Federation of 
Miners took place. It was and is under the direction of skilled and experienced 
strike leaders of the federation, who are not residents of this district or of this State. 
The strike took out only those affiliated with that organization on the morning when 
it went into effect. Many of our employees continued at work for the day. 

A campaign of violence and riot was at once instituted. The officers of the counties 
were without power to maintain order or to restrain lawlessness. By threats publicly 
made, including threats of destruction of their homes in their absence, violence to 
their families, and death to themselves, the men of the night shift were deterred from 
going to work underground. Mechanics and laborers were driven from their employ- 
ment by riotous mobs, armed with firearms, clubs, rocks, iron bars, and other weapons. 
Mechanics, miners, and laborers who desired to work, or while at work, were cruelly 
beaten and many were severely injured. One old man 75 years of age, who had 
worked in the mine for more than SO years, was beaten and seriously injured . Another 
of like age was driven from his work at the point of a gun. The officers of the law 
were helpless, derided, cursed, and their authority ignored. A deputy sheriff's star 
was a signal for an attack on the wearer. Officers were assaulted and beaten. Active 
resistance undoubtedly would have resulted in the destruction of property and the 
loss of many lives. A store building and its contents were bmned after the pro- 
prietors announced that they must refuse credit. The men were driven from the 
pumps and the mines were flooded with water, causing great destruction and damage. 
At some of the mines even the operation of pumps for the fire protection of the com- 
munity was forcibly prevented and the men driven out. At every branch of the 
mining industry at the several mining locations the labor of the employees willing 
and anxious to work was stopped forcibly, riotously, by threats and intimidation, by 
violence and assault, by woundings and beatings. For the remainder of the week 
every mining location was wholly at the mercy of these rioters, and millions of dollars' 
worth of property absolutely in their hands. 

All this was but the repetition of the results which have invariably followed the 
calling of a strike by the councils of the Western Federation of Miners. 

Of their membership in this community many of our employees, since the 
strike was instituted, have been taken from their homess and intimidated and 
forced under threats into joining the federation. The strikers have paraded 
by day and by night, armed with weapons of all kinds, and have forced men, 
unwilling to do so, to join their parades. The large majority of our employees 
at the mine locations were for the time terrorized into complete submission 
to these riotous strikers, who are those who have affiliated with the Western 
Federation of Miners, and none others. 

There was no call by these strikers for conference or for mediation or for 
adjustment while they thus completely dominated the situation. 

There is therefore no industrial dispute between the mine owners and em- 
ployees. Under the circumstances and because of our knowledge that the ma- 
jority of our employees have at no time sympathized with the purposes of the 
federation, and have been and are now willing and anxious to continue in their 
employment, we can not recognize the right of the Western Federation of 
Miners to intervene or to assume to represent our employees with respect to the 
present conditions, or in any other manner whatsoever. 

The suggested joint conference of both sides could mean nothing other than 
a conference in which one side would not be our employees or representatives 
of our employees, but would be the Western Federation of Miners or its repre- 
sentatives, w T hose sole object is undeniably to establish the federation in a 
dominant control of the mining industry of this district. With them we can not 
confer, and, with all respect to his excellency, we feel that we can not enter 
into a joint conference with or in any manner recognize that organization, 
which, most certainly to our knowledge, does not represent our employees, with 
the great majority of whom we have no dispute of any kind. 

It has constantly been the practice in the past and will continue to be the 
practice in the future for managements of the various companies to confer 
freely with their own employees or with representatives of their employees on any 
matter relating to improved working conditions or real or. supposed grievances 
and willingly to redress or correct any wrongs. No intervention of any kind 
was or will be necessary for such joint conferences ; but to confer or treat with 
an organization foreign to your territory and to the interest of our employees 
and not in any manner representing them is something which we can not con- 
template. 



78 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

We desire to be clear and emphatic in conveying to you our opposition to the 
Western Federation of Miners, in the firm belief, based upon its record, which 
is a matter of history, that the domination of this district by that particular 
organization, for which purpose alone this strike has been incited and instituted 
by that organization, can result in nothing but harm to the best interests and 
welfare of our employees and of this entire community, and can conduce to 
nothing but a continuance of discontent, which is their doctrine, and a constant 
recurrence of lawlessness and disorder, which seem to follow upon their methods. 

In spite of the beneficent effect of the presence of the Michigan National 
Guard under your efficient command, which has given to the people and the 
business interests of this community a feeling of confidence and a comparative 
peace and quiet, yet the intimidation of our employees, threats of personal vio- 
lence, of the destruction of property, and even of the taking of human lives, 
continue to this day. No later than yesterday employees of more than one of 
our companies, nonsympathizers with the Western Federation of Miners, were 
set upon and cruelly beaten. Under no circumstances would we consent to 
confer with strikers or representatives of strikers or to compromise any differ- 
ences or consider alleged grievances with a body of men who are thus lawlessly 
conducting themselves. 

Under all the trying circumstances of the riotous proceedings of the days 
before your arrival we have refrained from the employment or the use of private 
armed guards. In the belief that the prevention of bloodshed was the first and 
the highest consideration, we prohibited and prevented the use of firearms or 
deadly weapons against those who were attacking our property and our em- 
ployees. We have relied solely upon the constituted authorities for their pro- 
tection. The local officers of the law, with conscientious and zealous desire to 
that end, found themselves without power to cope with the lawlessness, disorder, 
violence, and riotous conduct which ensued from the first inception of the strike. 
Through the request of his excellency, preferred by officials charged by law 
with the exercise of discretion in the matter, the Michigan National Guard, 
under your command, lias come to this community for the sole purpose of the 
maintenance and enforcement of law and order, without favor either to mine 
owners or strikers. 

We have imported no strike breakers. We have imported no mechanics, 
miners, or laborers. Our old employees, to a large majority within our own 
knowledge, who have no grievance and with whom we have no dispute, are 
willing and anxious to resume their work, from which they have been driven by 
force and violence on the part of a comparatively small but well-organized and 
well-officered body of strikers, who have submitted themselves to the influence 
and domination of the Western Federation of Miners. 

Our only request of the great Commonwealth of Michigan is that our old em- 
ployees who are willing and anxious to resume work may be permitted to do 
so without molestation from those who have undertaken and thus far succeeded 
by intimidation and personal violence in preventing them in the exercise of the 
right which the laws of Michigan assure to them to labor without interference 
or molestation. If our employees could to-day be assured of their entire free- 
dom from unlawful molestation, if they could feel sure that their homes and 
their families would be safe in their absence, we should be assured of an imme- 
diate or speedy settlement, not of an industrial dispute which has no existence, 
but of a situation which if continued will mean that the organization known 
as the Western Federation of Miners, its local councils and those of our em- 
ployees who have affiliated with it, and who alone constitute the active strikers, 
are not amenable to the laws of this State. 

We have every assurance and a confident belief that our attitude as herein 
stated to you with reference to the present deplorable situation and with refer- 
ence to the domination of the district by the Western Federation of Miners has 
the hearty support and approval of the entire business interests and the respon- 
sible citizenship of this community. 

It is our belief, respectfully expressed, that the best and highest welfare of 
this great Commonwealth of Michigan demands as a foremost consideration 
that its laws be enforced, that lawlessness, violence, and disorder be restrained, 
and that the miners, mechanics, and laborers who desire to work be permitted 
to do so without violation on the part of any organization, combination of strikers 
or individuals, of the statme which makes it an offense against the peace and 
dignity of the people of this Commonwealth, by threats or intimidations or 
otherwise, and without authority of law. to interfere with or in any way to 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 79 

molest or disturb any mechanic or other laborer in the peaceful pursuit of his 
lawful avocation. 

We again wish to express our profound appreciation of the offer of his ex- 
cellency communicated to us through you. If the situation were such as to 
admit of the suggested joint conference, we should gladly aud thankfully accept 
the offer of his excellency the governor. We trust that we have shown by the 
statement of a situation which can be fully substantiated sufficient reasons for 
respectfully declining to enter into any conference with the Western Federation 
of Miners or its representatives. 

We also wish to express to his excellency and to yourself our full appreciation 
of the prompt action which resulted in the presence in this district of the 
Michigan National Guard, which under your efficient command, with favor 
toward no interest, either of mine owners or employees, has in so large a meas- 
ure restored to this community that peace and order and observance of law 
which makes in the highest degree for the welfare of the community and of the 
entire State. 

Very respectfully, 

Jas. MacNatjghton. 
J F. W. Denton, 

Copper Range Consolidated Co. 

Chas L. Lawton. 

Theo. Dengleb. 

R. M. Edwards. 

J. L. Harris. 
July 30, 1913. 

The following mines are represented by the above signatures : 

Mr. James MacXaughton is general manager of the Calumet & Hecla Mining- 
Co.; Ahmeek Mining Co., Allouez Mining Co., North Kearsarge Mine, South 
Kearsarge Mine, Tamarack Mining Co., Osceola Consolidated Co., Laurium 
Mining Co., La Salle Copper Co., Isle Royale Copper Co., Superior Copper Co., 
St. Louis Copper Co., and Centennial Copper Mining Co. 

Mr. F. W. Denton is general manager of the Baltic Mining Co., Champion 
Copper Co., and Trimountain Mining Co. 

Mr. Charles L. Lawton is general manager of the Quincy Mining Co. 

Mr. Theodore Dengler is agent of the Wolverine Copper Mining Co., and 
Mohawk Mining Co. 

Mr. R. M. Edwards is president and general manager of the Franklin Mining 
Co., Rhode Island Copper Co., Indiana Mining Co., North Lake Mining Co., 
Algomah Mining Co., and general manager of the South Lake Mining Co. 

Mr. J. L. Harris is general manager of the Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. 
and Oneco Copper Mining Co. 

The second effort of Gov. Ferris to effect a settlement of the 
strike was through Judge Alfred H. Murphy, of the circuit court of 
Wayne County. Judge Murphy spent nearly two weeks in the 
copper range, acquainting himself with labor conditions in the mines 
and the causes of dissatisfaction that had led to the strike. On 
August 14 he held a conference with the mine managers at the 
Houghton Club, and urged them to agree to arbitration of the strike. 
He even went so far as to propose arbitration with the question of 
recognition of the federation eliminated, he having been assured by 
the federation officials that they would not insist upon a considera- 
tion of that question. The reply of the managers follows : 

At the recent meeting with you of the mine managers of Houghton and 
Keweenaw Counties, the operations of whose mines is affected by the existing 
strike conditions, you submitted to us the following question : 

" Eliminating any recognition now or hereafter of the Western Federation of 
Miners, what terms and conditions of labor will you authorize me. as the 
representative of the governor, to present to anyone interested as the basis for 
the reemployment of your men ? " 

You are authorized as representative of the governor to state that the men 
will be reemployed on the same terms and conditions of labor as existed at 
the several properties prior to the inception of the strike. That in such re- 



80 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

employment the fact that a former employee has been a member of, or otherwise 
affiliated with, the Western Federation of Miners, will not of itself be considered 
as a bar to his reentering our employ. But we reserve the right to use our 
individual discretion as to the reemployment of any who may be known to have 
engaged in acts of agitation, lawlessness, violence, or intimidation, or inciting 
thereto. After such employment and the cessation of strike conditions any 
body of the employees at any mining property or affected individuals brought 
to the attention of any one of us through his own employees will be given full 
consideration, with the desire, as in the past of each of us. severally, to correct 
any wrongs that we may find to exist, either in individual instances or in gen- 
eral conditions. 

The foregoing answer to your question is the basis for the reemployment of 
our men. The great differences in working conditions existing at the various 
mines have made it impossible to formulate a statement of the terms and con- 
ditions of labor which could be made uniformly applicable to the several mines 
with justice to their respective employees or with fairness to the several mining 
companies. But you are further authorized, assuming such reemployment 
ensues, to state with respect to matters mentioned by you at our conference. 

As to wages, let us say that the adoption of a uniform minimum wage is 
impracticable, owing to the great differences in conditions at the several prop- 
erties. But to you, as the representative of the governor, we will when the 
work is resumed, and for a reasonable period thereafter, submit our pay rolls 
and all material data, and if, after being informed as to attendant conditions 
and circumstances, you find any iniquities in specific individual instances, they 
will be remedied in accordance with your recommendations. If, taking into 
full consideration the living and working conditions, the advantages and privi- 
leges furnished to or for the employees, the costs of mining and production, and 
all material circumstances, you find at any of our mines that the general rates 
of wages as to any class or all classes of employees are inadequate, unfair, or 
inequitable, we will severally give full and fair consideration to your recom- 
mendations in that regard. 

As to the working hours, we have each had for some time under consideration 
a change in this respect, with the intention, if and so far as found practicable, 
to bring about as near an approach as conditions may warrant to an eight-hour 
day for our underground employees, a portion of whom have heretofore been 
in close approximation to that condition. The present situation does not alter 
our intentions. Any change of this character involves to a great extent a re- 
organization of the operations and for that reason must be a gradual one. The 
time within which it can be brought about can not now be stated. We can now 
state only the fact that it has been and is under favorable consideration. 

As for the one-man drill, we can only state that with respect to this, as to all 
our operations, our efforts, in advance of all other considerations, are exerted 
toward securing the safety of our employees. The conditions of competition, 
the low grade of our rock as compared with other districts, the increasing 
expense, with debts and other conditions, have made the use of the one-man 
drill imperative for the continuation of operations. 

The request for nonemployment of boys under 18 is clearly a matter for the 
legislature. The foregoing involves as a condition the early cessation of strike 
conditions, the elimination of any recognition now or hereafter of the Western 
Federation of Miners, and the withdrawal from that organization of those of 
its members who may be reemployed. This is not imposed as a condition of an 
arbitrary nature, nor is it stated through ill will, but must be recognized that 
in view "of the nature of the teachings and utterances of such leaders in their 
addresses to their members and to the public with respect to ourselves, our 
officials, our employees, and our companies, there can not be a restoration of 
harmony, good feeling, and mutual respect between employers and employees, 
between bosses and men, or among the men themselves in any other way. To 
act otherwise on our part, to fail to bring about such restoration, most essential 
to the welfare of our men and of the community and the State, would be to 
invite an early renewal of strife. 

James MacXaughton, general manager of the Calumet & Hecla Mining 
Co., Ahmeek Mining Co., Allouez Mining Co., North Kearsarge 
Mine, South Kearsarge Mine, Tamarack Mining Co., Osceola 
Consolidated Mining Co., Laurium Mining Co., LaSalle Copper 
Co., Isle Royale Copper Co., Superior Copper Co.. St. Louis Cop- 
per Co., and Centennial Copper Mining Co. 



MICHIGAN" COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 81 

F. W. Denton, general manager of the Baltic Mining Co., Champion 
Copper Co., and Trimountain Mining Co. 

Charles L. Lawton, general manager Quincy Mining Co. 

Theodore Dengler, agent of the Wolverine Copper Mining Co. and 
Mohawk Mining Co. 

R. M. Edwards, president and general manager of the Franklin Min- 
ing Co., Indiana Mining Co., North Lake Mining Co., Algomah 
Mining Co., and general manager of South Lake Mining Co. 

J. L. Harris, general manager of the Hancock Consolidated Mining 
Co. and Oneco Copper Mining Co. 

R. R. Seeber, superintendent of the Winona Mining Co. and Houghton 
Copper Co. 

Judge Murphy made his report to Gov. Ferris on July 26, and on 
the next day gave out for publication the following statement : 

One of the duties given me by the governor was to offer my services in media- 
tion in an effort to learn what concessions, if any, the employers would make. I 
put to them a question which eliminated the employees' demand for recognition 
of the Western Federation of Miners. I did so, because I am satisfied that the 
employers will not recognize the federation, whatever be the cost to themselves, 
their employees, and the whole community. With the obstacle of recognition 
removed, I wanted to see what the employers were willing to do. With that I 
learned it could then be ascertained what concessions the employees would make. 
The controversy would thus be narrowed to its smallest compass. Eliminating 
recognition of the federation, the question asked upon what terms the strikers 
would be reemployed. 

The answer of the employers has now been made public. There are two out- 
standing features in it whi< h in my judgment are unreasonable and arbitrary. 
A conference with the mine managers was had after the receipt of this answer. 
They adhere unalterably to it. I could not, with self-respect, propose these 
terms to the employees, for no self-respecting striker could submit to the two 
conditions I refer to. 

The employers insist on refusing in their individual discretion reemployment 
to any striker who has engaged " in acts of agitation," or who has " incited 
thereto." To agitate for improved conditions, to agitate for the right of em- 
ployees to organize, to agitate for any legitimate end is the right of every citi- 
zen. To penalize the exercise of that right by refusing employment throughout 
the copper country to any striker is to put him and his family upon that com- 
munity practically without employment. It is wrong fundamentally and wholly 
wrong in principle. In policy nothing so much reminds me of it as the obtuse 
course of the Bourbons. It would put the strikers who return to work in the 
position of sacrificing their fellows who had been loyal in a common cause. 

The position of the employers that withdrawal from the membership in the 
federation must be a condition precedent to reemployment is equally arbitrary 
and untenable. In principle, if the employer can do this, he can, with like 
propriety, compel withdrawal from any political, religious, or social body as a 
condition of employment. It is basically un-American. In this tense situa- 
tion, where power should be used generously and gently, it is a policy which 
will set men's teeth, evoke in the striker the spirit of loyalty and sacrifice, and 
make them ready to suffer desperate hardships before acknowledging any such 
right in the employer. 

The respective contentions concerning wages, hours, and other conditions of 
labor are attended by many considerations and by different Victors in different 
mines. We are prone, I think, in the lower peninsula, to identify the copper 
country with the Calumet & Hecla only. True, it and its 12 subsidiary com- 
panies dominate the situation. But there are 15 other mining companies. 
Some of them have been operating for years without paying a dividend. Some 
have been calling upon their stockholders for from $80,000 to $100,000 a year 
in assessments to keep them running, in the hope that a profitable mine will be 
developed. And while at least a living wage may rightly be demanded from 
all mine operators, there are many conditions to be studied in working out 
just conclusions upon the questions of hours and wages. 

I believe there are real grievances, at least upon the part of the trammers. 
They fill and move for distances varying from 50 to 1,500 and even, at places, 
2.000 feet, a car which empty weighs 1,900 pounds and which carries 2to tons 

S. Doc. 3S1, 62-3 6 



82 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. ' 

of rock. In the mines of South Africa this work is done by electric haulage. 
These trammers complain so generally of the treatment they receive from their 
bosses that I think a foundation for the complaints must exist. Nor do I be- 
lieve that they have had opportunity in the past, without incurring the penalty 
of added difficulties and even discharges, to appeal from the boss to a higher 
authority for redress. 

The time consumed by all underground men in getting to the levels below 
and returning to the surface at the close of work is borne by the employees. 
In the Butte (Mont.) district this is divided, the workmen going down on their 
own time and coming up on the company's time. 

The one-man drill, of which there are now 400 in the Calumet & Hecla mine, 
has, I believe, like all labor-saving devices, come to stay. Its installation 
should be, if it has not been, accompanied by equitable conditions as to pay 
and safe conditions of operation. 

I speak of the foregoing as indicating the real need of improvement in some 
conditions. To arrive at just conclusions on all the matters in dispute would 
involve full inquiry in the presence of, and with the cross-examination of, both 
employers and employees. 

What should the State do? It is maintaining troops in the strike region at 
great expense. Many of Michigan's manufacturers are directly interested as 
consumers of copper. 

The Commonwealth, as the organ of society at large, is directly concerned 
not only with the industrial but with the social and economical welfare of all 
the parties in interest — the men, the women,, and the children of the Keweenaw 
Peninsula. 

Yet the State is compelled to look on, with the contending forces at arm's 
length, with no ample authority to take care of ;| -s interests. Just what the 
State can do and should do in such a situation ?alls for careful study. It 
should not be done in a haphazard way. 

The Canadian act, which provides a board of investigation and conciliation 
for industrial disputes in which is involved any public necessity, whether an 
article of commerce or a public utility, points a way. In Canada a board com- 
posed of three members — one appointed by each of the contending parties, and 
a chairman selected by both — is delegated to investigate. It has the full power* 
of a court of record to compel the testimony of witnesses and the production of 
papers. A lockout or a strike must be suspended when contemplated until the 
board completes its hearing and makes its formal finding. Its report is not 
binding upon the parties. Its only appeal is to public opinion. But it is an 
appeal made after full inquiry and with an effort at impartiality. After the 
report, if desired, the lockout or strike may go into effect notwithstanding the 
finding. From March, 1907, to March, 1913, the act was invoked 145 times, and 
there were only 18 strikes during that period. 

The State should at least have the power to bring the parties in for full ex- 
amination. The State, as the ancient phrase has it, is parens patriae — the 
father of the country. For its own welfare and protection, and because of 
the social obligations it owes its people, it must devise a way of fulfilling that 
duty. But this calls for no hasty, ill-considered legislative program. It re- 
quires careful research and sound judgment. 

That the duty which the State also owes its people to protect life and prop- 
erty still requires the presence of troops can not be doubted by anyone who 
will make impartial inquiry into existing conditions. The troops are being 
gradually reduced, and the governor, upon the information given him, will con- 
tinue this policy. The time is not yet here when they may be wholly with- 
drawn. 

A dispatch from Big Rapids, Mich., the home of Gov. Ferris, 
dated August 26, and published in the Houghton and Calumet Daily 
Mining Gazette, said that, after his conference with Judge Murphy, 
the governor said : 

Judge Murphy's mission has been accomplished to my entire satisfaction. 
My talk with him merely strengthens my prior convictions. I do not hesitate 
to say that the men have real grievances. By this I do not want to be under- 
stood as taking the position that they are right in all their contentions and 
should have all the concessions they demand, but they are entitled to some of 
the things they ask, and this fact, in my opinion, makes the position taken by 
the operators seem arrogant and unfair. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 83 

You caD say for me that as long as the presence of the soldiers in the copper 
country is necessary to afford any man who desires it protection for life and 
property they will remain on the job. 

On September 4 Charles H. Moyer, president of the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners, and Clarence Darrow, of Chicago, one of the fed- 
eration's legal advisers, called on Gov. Ferris at Lansing and urged 
that he again endeavor to settle the strike by arbitration. Following 
is a copy of a letter written by President Moyer from Chicago on the 
same day and a copy of the governor's reply : 

Chicago, September If, 1913. 
Mr. Woodbidge N. Feebis. 

Governor of Michigan, State Capitol Building, Lansing, Mich. 
Dear Sib: Per your request, I hereby submit in writing the terms of settle- 
ment agreeable to the striking miners of the copper district in the State of 
Michigan. 

First. The employer shall agree that all men who went on strike shall be 
reinstated in their former positions. 

Second. The right of the employees to join any society, association, or 
organization shall be conceded by the employers. This being agreed to by the 
employers, the employees agree to submit all other questions in dispute, includ- 
ing hours, wages, and the one-man machine, to a board of arbitration, said 
board to be created as follows : Employers to select two members, the employees 
two, and the governor of the State of Michigan to act as the fifth member of 
the board, both parties at interest to be bound by the findings of the board. 
Respectfully submitted. 

Chables H. Moyeb 
(In behalf of the employees), 
President Western Federation of Miners. 



State of Michigan. Executive Chambers, 

Lansing, September 5, 1913. 
My Dear Sir : I have your communication of September 4. also one from 
Mr. Clarence Darrow. of Chicago, bearing the same date. I thank you for this 
communication. Rest assured that I shall continue to do everything in my 
power to bring about a settlement of this strike whereby justice will be the 
dominating factor. 

I wish to assure you that I have done everything within my capacity to 
bring about a just settlement of this strike. My regret is that the very men 
I have pleaded for during the past 25 years should utterly misunderstand my 
attitude. I care nothing about this, provided the strike has a righteous 
conclusion. 

Very sincerely, yours, 

Woodbridge N. Ferris, Governor. 
Mr. Charles H. Moyer. 

President Western Federation of Miners, Calumet, Mich. 

A dispatch from Lansing, dated September 15 and published in 
the Hancock Evening Journal of that date, said : 

Gov. Ferris to-day received notice that another attempt to bring a settlement 
of the copper strike had failed. He received the following telegram from 
Allen F. Rees, of Houghton, attorney for the mine managers : 

" We can not act along the lines of your telegram, because conditions seem 
to make it impossible." 

The telegram referred to by Rees contained a plan of arbitration proposed 
by Chairman Hemans. of the State railroad commission, and embodied the 
withdrawal of the Western Federation of Miners from the controversy. 

During September Gov. Ferris was urged to call an extra session 
of the legislature to enact measures which would provide for arbi- 
tration or for improved conditions in the mining districts. Among 
measures which he was asked by various persons to recommend were : 



84 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 

1. The enactment of a law reestablishing a State board of arbitra- 
tion. 

2. The enactment of an eight-hour law for men working under- 
ground, similar to such laws in Arizona. California. Colorado, Idaho. 
Missouri. Montana, Nevada. Oklahoma. Oregon, Utah, Washington, 
and Wyoming. 

3. The enactment of a law which would prohibit sheriffs from 
bringing men from other States into their counties to act as " aids." 

4. The enactment of a law which would change the burden of 
paying the expense of the militia, when called out on strike duty, 
from the State treasury to the treasury of the county where the 
militia should be sent. 

5. The enactment of a law which would impose a tonnage tax on 
the production of the mineral mines of the State. 

Gov. Ferris issued a letter to all the members of the legislature 
asking for their advice as to calling an extra session, and a large 
majority advised against it. He then abandoned the idea. 

The Houghton and Calumet Daily Mining Gazette of Septem- 
ber 11 said that Claude O. Taylor, president of the Michigan Fed- 
eration of Labor, who had been in the copper district several days, 
and who had conferred with officers of the Western Federation of 
Miners, would call upon James MacXaughton, general manager of 
the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co.. and lay before him another plan 
for arbitrating the strike. The Gazette further said : 

The plan is practically the same as those already submitted to the corpora- 
tions by Gov. Ferris. Clarence Darrow. and others, excepting that the labor 
people are willing to arbitrate the question as to whether or not the corpora- 
tions shall recognize the right of the men to organize local unions not affiliated 
with the federation. 

It is proposed to have the arbitration committee made up of seven men, three 
to be appointed by the strikers, three by the mining companies, and the seventh 
by these six. The strikers' three delegates are to be local men who are not 
officials of the federation of miners. 

On September 11, Mr. Taylor called at the Calumet & Hecla 
offices, but the general manager refused to meet him. 

At a regular semiweekly meeting of the mine managers, held at 
the Houghton Club on September 17, John A. Moffitt, special repre- 
sentative of the United States Department of Labor, presented the 
two following propositions: 

Houghton. Mich., September 17, 1913. 
To the managers of the mines in the copper district of Michigan. 

Gentlemen : As special representative of the United States Department of 
Labor, I offer for your immediate consideration the good offices of the depart- 
ment in bringing about an adjustment of the existing strike of the mine workers. 
These good offices of the department are offered to you, collectively or sepa- 
rately, for the purpose of mediation, conciliation, or arbitration, under existing 
conditions, preferably the latter, to wit : 

First. That all the issues involved in the strike shall be settled by arbitration. 

Second. That the board of arbitration shall be composed of five members. 

Third. That two of the members shall be selected by the mine managers. 

Fourth. That two of the members shall be chosen by the mine workers now on 
strike. 

Fifth. That the latter two members shall not be members of the Western 
Federation of Miners. 

Sixth. That the latter two members shall be selected at a meeting which all 
mine workers now on strike shall be invited to attend. 

Seventh. That the fifth member shall be designated by the United States 
Secretarv of Labor. 



MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTEICT STRIKE. 85 

Eighth. That the decision of this board of arbitration shall be binding on both 
the managers and the mine workers now on strike. 

If this proposal as a whole is not acceptable to you, I request that you indi- 
cate what part of the proposition is objectionable. 
Respectfully submitted. 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 



Houghton, Mich., September 11, 1913. 
To the managers of the mines in the copper district of Michigan. 

Gentlemen : With the view of adjusting amicably the differences between you 
and your former employees now on strike, I propose to you, collectively or sepa- 
rately, that you discuss these differences with a committee composed of such a 
number of persons as you may suggest ; that these persons shall be members of 
the Western Federation of Miners, or shall not be members of that organization, 
as you may prefer, and they shall be chosen at a meeting which all of the mine 
workers on strike shall be invited to attend. 
Respectfully submitted. 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 

At this meeting of the mine managers some of them requested Mr. 
Moffitt to secure from the Western Federation of Labor information 
as to the number of members of the federation in the Michigan copper 
district at the time of the referendum vote on calling a strike and the 
number that voted in favor of striking. To each of the managers 
Mr. Moffitt sent a letter as follows : 

Calumet, Mich., September 19, 1913. 
To the managers of the mines in the copper district of Michigan. 

Gentlemen : In compliance with the request that was made at your meeting 
in Houghton on the 17th instant, that I should ascertain if possible the num- 
ber of votes cast by your employees in favor of a strike and the conditions 
under which the vote was taken. I desire to inform you that, upon investigation 
at the union headquarters at Calumet and other points, I gathered the follow- 
ing information : 

That the executive board of the Federation of Miners was requested by the 
mine workers of this district to give their approval to holding a referendum 
vote on two propositions, which was granted, to wit: 

A. Asking for a joint conference of the mine managers and the employees. 

B. In case a joint conference should be refused, that a strike be called. 
After the aforesaid request was granted, meetings of the men were held at 

their respective places of meeting in this district, and they were notified that 
on July 1 balloting would begin at the offices of the secretaries at the follow 
mg places : Calumet. Ahmeek, South Range, Hancock, and Mass City, and that 
the polls would be open each day until July 12 from 8 o'clock in the morning 
until 6 o'clock p. in., and all the men were urged to vote. 

Notice of said balloting was advertised in the local papers in foreign lan- 
guages, and committees of the men were also sent to the various localities to 
remind the men of the referendum. The polls were closed to voting at 12 
o'clock noon on July 12, and a canvass of the votes showed that nearly 9,000 
votes were cast, and of this number 98 per cent voted in favor of the afore- 
mentioned propositions. 
Very truly, yours. 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 

When Mr. Moffitt presented the propositions for mediation or 
arbitration to the mine managers on September 17, their attorney, 
Allan F. Eees, said that these propositions contained " several new 
elements," and some time would be required to draft a formal reply. 
By " new elements " he probably referred particularly to the pro- 
posal that the two members of the arbitration board chosen by the 



86 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

strikers should not be members of the Western Federation of Miners, 
the mining companies having always declared that they would not 
consent to arbitration by a board on which the federation was repre- 
sented. He also probably referred to the request that if the arbitra- 
tion proposition should not be acceptable as a whole the managers 
should indicate what part of the proposition was objectionable. 

The reply of the mine managers, dated September 20, refusing to 
accept the good offices of the United States Department of Labor, 
did not discuss the propositions in detail, but was only a reiteration 
of the managers' declaration that " the real issue involved in the 
strike is recognition of the Western Federation of Miners," and that 
they were unalterably determined to bring about the " elimination " 
of that organization in the Michigan copper district. Their reply in 
full follows: 

Hon. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 

Dear Sir: The undersigned, being managers of the copper mines of the 
counties of Houghton and Keweenaw, in the State of Michigan, desire to ex- 
press to you their most sincere appreciation of your offer of the good offices of 
the department in bringing about an adjustment of the existing strike, involving 
part of the mine workers of our companies, submitted to us in yours of Septem- 
ber 16. 

The first offer submitted by you begins with the proposition : " That all of 
the issues involved in the strike shall be settled by arbitration." 

The real issue involved in the strike is recognition of the Western Federation 
of Miners as an organization entitled to represent, through its officials, the 
mine workers of the district. This has been publicly announced in speeches and 
in print by the officials of that organization themselves. 

In like offers of mediation made by the governor of Michigan personally and 
through personal representatives appointed by him and acting by his authority 
we have heretofore definitely declined to treat with the Western Federation of 
Miners, either directly or indirectly. This conclusion was arrived at in the 
first instance because of the past history of the federation in its operations 
throughout the mining districts of the West ; because it was and is our firm con- 
viction that the domination of the employees of the mining companies by that 
federation would not be to the best interests of our employees themselves; 
and because the federation was entirely unjustified in attempting to speak as 
the representatives of our employees for the reason that, according to our 
best information at the time of the inception of the strike, confirmed by all the 
information which we have obtained since then, not to exceed 25 per cent of 
the employees of the companies (and in many instances a much smaller per- 
centage) were members of the organization and the large majority of our 
employees were not willing to be dominated by that organization. 

It should also be recognized that because of the attitude of the officers, leaders, 
and organizers of the Western Federation toward the mining companies and 
their officials and employees there could not be a resumption of mutual rela- 
tions and good will and confidence between employers and employees so long 
as the employees or any part of them are under the influence or domination 
of the federation. This should be apparent from the nature of the teachings and 
utterances of the officers, leaders, and organizers of the federation, as set forth 
in their published speeches and in their official applications. 

LARGE FORCE AT WORK. 

All of the larger mines of the district have resumed operations with a large 
portion of the normal forces of their employees, who are entirely satisfied with 
conditions. In the case of the Calumet & Hecla, after deducting from the 
normal force those who are known to have removed from the district by reason 
of strike conditions or for other reasons, from 80 to 85 per cent of its employees 
have returned to work and are now engaged in their several occupations. 
Similar conditions (with varying percentages) exist at the other larger mines 
of the district which are now in operation. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 87 

Under these circumstances it is our judgment that we would be remiss in our 
duties toward the great majority of our employees if we should take any 
action which in any manner would recognize the Western Federation of Miners 
as the representatives of the mine workers or as dictating or dominating the 
actions of our employees, even to the extent of an arbitration as to their right to 
recognition or as to any other difference, real or fancied, which the federation 
may urge. 

For these reasons, among many others which might be mentioned, we must 
adhere to our position that we will in no manner deal with the Western Federa- 
tion of Miners, either directly, through mediation, arbitration, or in any other 
way. 

The only issue involved at the time the strike was called by the Western 
Federation of Miners was our refusal to enter into any conference with a com- 
mittee of representatives of the federation. The only demand that was made 
was for such a conference, with a statement that if we were not willing to meet 
the officials of the Western Federation of Miners it would be taken as proof that 
the situation could not be settled peaceably. We have had no other grievances 
submitted to us in any way, either officially or otherwise. This was not a 
grievance of our employees, but was a grievance of the federation represented 
by their officials and organizers from other States, who are entirely unjustified 
in making any claims to a right to represent the employees of the mines of this 
district. 

Both of your propositions, as submitted by you, involve arbitration or discus- 
sion by or with committees, a part of them to be chosen " by the mine workers 
now on strike." 

The mine workers now on strike are those only who are members of the 
Western Federation of Miners. As above stated, they constitute but a small 
part of our employees. No method of choosing or appointing arbitrators or com- 
mittees by " the mine workers now on strike " could be devised in which such 
choice will not be the direct choice of the Western Federation of Miners as 
such, and with that federation we will have no dealings of any kind. 

It can not be too definitely understood with relation to the present situation 
that the mining companies can not and will not in any maner recognize or deal 
with the Western Federation of Miners. They do not represent our employees, 
but, on the contrary, under present conditions, they stand between the employ- 
ers and the employees as the only bar to a satisfactory and amicable adjust- 
ment of all existing differences. 

Because of this situation and without any lack of full appreciation of the 
efforts of yourself and the Department of Labor, we feel that it is necessary 
to say to you that we can not accept any plan of mediation or arbitration be- 
tween the mine employers and the mine workers on strike, which is but 
another designation for the Western Federation of Miners. 

But we suggest to you in view of the situation as above stated and as it 
exists in the counties of Houghton and Keweenaw at this date, that if you 
should use your personal influence and the influence of the Department of Labor 
to induce the officials, organizers, and leaders of the Western Federation of 
Miners to come to a full realization of the futility of any attempt to secure 
recognition in this district or to retain a standing therein which would permit 
them to remain as a factor of influence among our employees or any portion 
thereof, and to withdraw themselves and their influence from the present situ- 
ation and from the district, there would be nothing in the way of an early ad- 
justment of any differences or grievances, if they exist, between the employers 
and their employees. In this way and in this way only can the present deplor- 
able condition be remedied or adjusted. 

Since the inception of the strike it has been stated in published speeches 
of the officials of the Western Federation of Miners that they demanded an 
eight-hour day, abolition of the one-man drill, and a minimum wage of $3 per 
day for all employees. No grievances of that kind were stated or submitted to 
the companies in any form. 

THE EIGHT-HOUR DAY. 

As to the working hours, it may be stated to you, as was stated to Judge 
Murphy, who was here on a similar mission in behalf of the governor of Michi- 
gan, that for some time prior to the inception of the strike there had been under 
consideration by the several companies the institution of an eight-hour day 
for underground employees so far as that rule could be made practicable The 



88 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 

present strike situation does not alter the intention of the companies in that 
regard. It is known to the companies that a large number of their underground 
employees do not want the eight-hour day, and are opposed to it, but we will 
state to you that if the eight-hour day for our underground employees is de- 
sired by them or a sufficient majority of them, it has been and will continue to 
be given favorcial publications [favorable consideration]. 

The one-man drill question is purely and simply a manufactured grievance. 
We know it to be the fact that those who operate these drills do not want them 
abolished. The continuation of the mining industry in this district requires 
the use and application of every modern appliance for the reduction of cost. 
It is made necessary by the low-copper content of the rock and the expense of 
deep mining, as compared with higher production of other competing districts. 
The one-man drill is an economic necessity which has come to stay. The con- 
ditions of its use have been prescribed by the legislature and the question of 
its abolition is one which could not be submitted to arbitrators. 

As to the minimum wage question, the conditions at the different mines vary 
to such a large extent that no scale can be adopted applicable to all the differ- 
ent conditions. This has been impossible in the past and will continue impossi- 
ble in the future and would be as unfair to the laborers themselves as to the 
companies. 

We greatly regret that the situation is such as to render the plan of arbi- 
tration or of conference with a committee or with representatives of the West- 
ern Federation of Miners an impossibility to us. With the elimination of that 
organization, arbitration or mediation would become wholly unnecessary, as we 
are convinced that there would be no difficulty in adjusting satisfactorily all 
questions that might arise between our employees and the respective companies 
by whoni they are employed. 

Dated at Houghton, Mich.. September 20. 1913. 

The arbitration plan proposed by Mr. Moffitt was accepted by the 
three members of the executive board of the Western Federation of 
Miners, who were then in Calumet. A copy of their acceptance 
follows : 

Calumet. Mich.. September 11, 1913. 
Mr. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Agent, Department of Labor, City. 

Honored Sir : The striking miners of the copper district of Michigan, through 
their representatives, gladly accept your good offices in attempting to negotiate 
a settlement with their employers. They welcome arbitrnion in the settlement 
of this dispute, and further consider that your proposed method of constituting 
the board, eliminating as it does all question of the recognition of the Western 
Federation of Miners, puts it above any reasonable objection on the part of the 
employers, while at the same lime it meets with our hearty approval, to wit: 
That all differences shall be settled by a board of arbitration, said board to 
consist of five members, two of whom shall be chosen by the mine managers in- 
volved in the controversy, or whatever numbers may desire a settlement; two 
to be chosen by the strikers in mass meeting assembled for the purpose, the two so 
chosen not to be members of the federation; the fifth member of the board to 
be chosen by Hon. W. B. Wilson, Secretary of the Department of Labor. We 
shall accept arbitrament of said board in all matters at issue and hope that it 
will enter on its duties very soon. 

Appreciating your efforts in the behalf of industrial peace based on justice, 
we remain, 

Faithfully, yours, C. E. Mahoney. 

Yaxco Tersich. 
Guy E. Miller. 

Though the mine managers refused to accept the propositions for 
mediation or arbitration submitted by a representative of the Fed- 
eral Government, they afforded Walter B. Palmer, a special agent 
of the United States Department of Labor, full opportunity to ex- 
amine the working conditions underground and on the surface, and 
gave him and Charles B. Wait, a special agent of the same depart- 
ment, free access to their books to obtain data regarding the earnings 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 89 

of emplo}'ees of the mining companies, and a careful examination of 
the books and pay rolls was made. 

On the suggestion of Gov. Woodbridge N. Ferris a movement to- 
ward effecting a settlement of the strike was inaugurated by the 
Copper Country Commercial Club. At a meeting of the executive 
committee of the club on September 13 a committee was appointed 
to investigate the working conditions in the mines and to bring about 
an adjustment of the differences. By a unanimous vote of the ex- 
ecutive committee the following preamble and resolutions were 
adopted : 

PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION. 

The Copper Country Commercial Club is au organization of 500 business men 
and others of Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, whose purposes as stated in 
the constitution of the club are as follows : 

To instill, cultivate, and develop a spirit of civic pride among the people of 
the copper country and an abiding confidence in the business and future great- 
ness of the locality. 

To upbuild, develop, and improve manufacturing, mercantile, agricultural, 
and other economic conditions. 

To cooperate in and centralize all our efforts for general publicity. 

To induce people to come to the copper country and make their homes among 
us; and 

To take every possible means to promote the welfare of all of the people of 
this community. 

DAMAGE DONE BY STRIKE. 

For upward of seven weeks a condition of affairs has existed and to-day 
exists in the copper country which is nullifying every effort and every purpose 
of this organization. 

On July 23 the Western Federation of Miners called a general strike of all 
of its members employed in the mines of this district, and within a few hours, 
by forcible means and otherwise, every man employed, in or about the mines, 
whether a member of the federation or not. was deprived of his work, thus 
throwing out of employment an immense body of men. 

RIOT AND BLOODSHED FOLLOW. 

From the day of its inception the strike has been attended with rioting and 
bloodshed. Every day riotous mobs roam through the streets of our communi- 
ties and are held in check only by the force of the National Guard of the State. 
Attacks on workingmen are of daily occurrence; our jails are filled with per- 
sons awaiting trial for violent acts during the strike; our children daily have 
before their eyes the spectacle of men acting in absolute disregard of law and 
order ; all of which creates a deplorable and disgraceful condition which should 
not be tolerated in a civilized community. 

The expense already incurred for maintaining the troops and the augmented 
civil authorities is enormous. 

REFUSE TO MEET FEDERATION. 

The mine managers have refused to recognize the Western Federation of 
Miners and have refused to treat with them ; mediation and arbitration have 
been offered from various sources and refused. 

The press has been filled with the claims and counterclaims of the opposing 
parties, none of which has been verified. 

Reports of working conditions, wages, and hours of labor in the mines of the 
copper country have been spread broadcast throughout the land which, if taken 
for true, are a lasting shame and disgrace to the community. 

To avoid above conditions, many of our best people have left the copper 
country — some permanently, others to await the end of the struggle; business 
is demoralized ; the enormous loss in wages to the men can never be regained ; 
the damage to the copper country in its reputation for prosperity and well- 
being can not be estimated. 



90 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



RIGHTS OF THE PUBLIC. 

In view of the above, therefore, we believe that the time has come when this 
organization, whose every purpose is thus being destroyed, should rise up 
and demand that violence, rioting, and bloodshed must cease in this community, 
and that the rights of the thousands of people who are not directly involved 
in this strike must be recognized and respected. 

We believe that the Copper Country Commercial Club should, through a 
committee of its members, conduct an investigation to ascertain the facts and 
truth as to wages, hours of labor, and working conditions in general in the 
copper country, and when the truth has been ascertained should publish it to 
the people of this county, of this State, and of the Nation. 

OFFER TO MEDIATE. 

We believe that inasmuch as every attempt to bring about a cessation of 
strike conditions has failed, this organization should, through such committee, 
offer its services to both employer and employee, so that order may be restored 
and a resumption of work brought about : It is therefore 

Resolved, That the chairman of this meeting be authorized to appoint a com- 
mittee of three members of the commercial club, which committee is hereby 
instructed to take every means to carry out the purposes herein mentioned with 
all possible speed. 

That such committee may employ clerical help and incur such expense in 
connection with their work as may be necessary. 

That such committee report the result of its work, and that it be authorized 
to make such report public by publishing the same in the press of this com- 
munity and of the State. 

THE MEN APPOINTET). 

This resolution was adopted by unanimous vote of the executive committee 
and the following committee was chosen : Henry L. Baer, of Hancock ; Edward 
Ulseth, of Calumet; and John W. Black, of Houghton. This committee will 
meet to-morrow and take up its work without delay. 

It is the intention of the committee to consult with the men and with the 
mine managers and with all other persons interested in the unfortunate labor 
situation. 

There is every reason for the belief that the committee will be able to use its 
good offices for the purposes of securing concessions from the mining com- 
panies for the men and to influence all parties to the controversy with the 
end in view of settling the differences and securing a more general resumption 
of mining operations than is now in vogue. 

The executive committee of the commercial club appointed a com- 
mittee to investigate the strike. It was composed of Henry L. Baer, 
a wholesale meat merchant of Hancock; Edward Ulseth, a contractor 
and coal dealer of Calumet; and John W. Black, a contractor of 
Houghton. This committee opened an office in Calumet and sought 
information from both the mine managers and the men who were 
on strike. n ^ r . 

The officials of the Western Federation of Miners refused to co- 
operate with this committee or to furnish it with information, 
because they considered that the investigation by the commercial 
club was made on the suggestion of the mining companies and m 
their interests. 

The report of the committee to Gov. Ferris was dated October 8, 
1913, approved by the Copper Country Commercial Club on Octo- 
ber 10, published in the Houghton and Calumet Daily Mining 
Gazette of October 14, and republished in an illustrated pamphlet 
of 85 pages. Sections of the report were republished as an adver- 
tisement in the Boston Globe of October 20, making a full page, and 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 91 

In other Boston newspapers. Following are some of the conclusions 
which the committee reached, quoted from its report: 

Attitude toward organized labor. — -During the time that mining operations 
have been carried on in this district the industry has been singularly free 
from strike troubles. The entire district has been carried on on the open-shop 
principle, as nearly as the committee hns been able to ascertain. At no time 
has any part of the district been thoroughly unionized, and at no time during 
the history of the district has any mining company treated directly with any 
labor organization. At the same time, men have been employed by the various 
companies without discrimination on account of union affiliations. At the 
present time there are employed by the various mining companies on surface, 
machinists, molders, railway engineers, brakemen, and others who belong to 
the various unions or labor organizations of their particular crafts. Up to 
the time of the present strike men were not discriminated against because of 
their membership in the Western Federation of Miners or any other miners' 
union, and many men undoubtedly were at work in the district underground 
who belonged to the Western Federation of Miners. Since the beginning of 
the present strike, however, every one of the managers of the mining com- 
panies operating in the district has announced that hereafter no member of 
the Western Federation will be employed, and it may be stated at this point 
that each of the managers of the various companies has also stated, both to 
this committee and to representatives of the Federal Department of Labor 
and the governor of the State, that they will under no circumstances recognize 
in any manner that particular organization. 

When requested by this committee to give their reasons for this arbitrary 
attitude, the mining managers stated as their reason the record of the Western 
Federation, as they understood it, in other camps previous to the trouble in 
this district. They pointed out in particular the record of the federation in 
the strike carried on by it in the Coeur d'Alene district in Idaho in 1894, the 
strike carried on by it in the Cripple Creek and other mining districts of 
Colorado from 1894 to 1904, and took the stand that in their refusal to recog- 
nize or treat with the federation they were justified by the fact, as stated 
by them, that every labor dispute in which the Western Federation had taken 
a part was accompanied by bloodshed and violence. * * * 

Blacklists. — The committee has investigated as thoroughly as was possible 
the question as to whether or not the mining companies in the Michigan district 
or the mine operators had formed any combination or had acted with any 
concerted plan previous to the present strike, and from such investigation the 
committee is convinced that, previous to the present strike, there has been no 
concerted action or combination among the mine managers or operators at any 
time until after the strike had commenced. Since the strike has been in 
progress the committee finds that the mine operators have adopted a uniform 
policy in regard to the recognition of the Western Federation of Miners and the 
reemployment of members of that organization. 

The committee has also investigated thoroughly the question as to whether 
or not there existed in the copper district of Michigan a " blacklist " of any 
kind, and whether discharge from one company would affect the possibility 
of obtaining reemployment with some other company. On this point the com- 
mittee finds that, beyond any question, there has never existed, in recent years 
at least, any agreement of any kind between the various companies, nor has 
"here existed any blacklist of employees. The committee has found, as a mat- 
ter of fact, that employees discharged by one company have found ready em- 
ployment with the other companies, and in one instance found that an em- 
ployee discharged by a mining captain in one shaft of a mine, within a few 
days was reemployed by a captain of another shaft of the same mine. * * * 

Reemployment of labor. — As the district for some time previous to the strike 
svas suffering a shortage of labor, the committee is informed that it will be 
necessary, in order to bring the number of employees up to the normal force, 
to give employment to considerable more men than were working on the day 
before the strike. A few of the companies are at the present time taking into 
their employment outside labor which is coming into the district. This, how- 
ever, to a limited extent. For some time previous to the strike there existed 
a shortage of labor in the copper country. It is estimated from figures obtained 
at the various mines that they were operating with about 1,500 men short of 
normal force. In addition to this, it is estimated that when the strike com- 
menced fully 2,000 men left the district, and, therefore, as nearly as the com- 



92 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

niittee can ascertain from the various mine managers, if the men on strike 
desire to go back to work, there will be plenty of opportunity for them to 
obtain their old positions. This statement is made with the reservation, how- 
ever, that the various managers declare that they will not reemploy certain of 
their old employees who have taken part in any violence or criminal action 
during the days of the strike. * * * 

The one-man drill. — It is claimed by the Western Federation of Miners and 
its members that the one-man drill, so-called, has placed a burden upon the 
miners in the copper mines of Michigan which is not commensurate with the 
wages paid. In this connection, in order to clarify the situation, it may be 
stated that drilling originally was done by hand. The purpose of the drill in 
mining work is to drill holes into which the powder is afterwards charged for 
blasting. In the early days of mining this work was done by two or more 
men, one of the men holding the drill while other men acted as strikers. As 
the mining industry developed, a power drill was introduced which was operated 
by two men. The introduction of the first power drill operated by two men 
met with the same resistance which is now being offered to the one-man drill. 
The claim was made that it would put a great many men out of employment, 
which same claim is also made at the present time in reference to the one- 
man drill. 

It may be stated generally that in the Lake Superior copper district the aver- 
age copper contents of the rock decreases with depth. This has been the his- 
tory of the district, and the cost of mining increases proportionately with depth. 
As has been shown briefly in this report by tables, the Michigan copper mines 
are operating with rock carrying lower copper contents than the other copper- 
inining districts of the United States, and the Michigan copper mines are op- 
erating at greater depth and consequently at greater cost than the other copper 
mines of the United States. In order to compete with the other copper districts 
of the United States, the above facts have made it absolutely imperative that 
the mines of Michigan should be operated with the closest economy. * * * 

This committee, in order to understand the drill and its workings, inspected 
the drill at work underground in four of the mines. The members of the com- 
mittee talked to men operating it. They operated it themselves, they saw the 
drill taken down and set up. The committee talked to a number of miners who 
were operating the one-man drill, and in no case found any specific objection to 
its use. In a few instances the men claimed that it was difficult to set up in 
some places, but the committee found that it is a practice among the miners for 
one man to help another whenever necessary. The one-man drill operators in- 
terviewed invariably admitted that they are making more money on the one-man 
drill than they were on the two-man drill, and not in a single instance did the 
committee find a man that would give up his one-man drill to go back to the 
two-man drill. The committee found in some cases men who said that two men 
should be on the drill, but when requested for their reasons and asked of what 
assistance the second man would be in operating the drill, they were unable to 
give any, except that the assistance would be given to set up the drill in the 
morning and to take it out of the way before blasting. The committee on one 
of its trips underground saw one man set up his drill in nine minutes, but from 
what the committee has been able to ascertain, the average time required by 
miners to make their places of work safe by barring down loose rock, preparing 
the place for the drill, and setting up the drill seems to be about one and one- 
half hours. 

The claim has also been made to the committee that a great many men would 
be thrown out of work by the adoption of this drill, but mining men and en- 
gineers in this particular district claim that the installation of this one-man 
drill will permit mining companies to work poorer ground than has ever before 
been handled in the district and that instead of throwing miners out of em- 
ployment it will create a demand for more miners. 

On its trips underground the committee took occasion to ascertain whether or 
not the mining companies were operating in accordance with the law passed 
at the recent session of the legislature in reference to the one-man drill, 
namely the act providing that men operating these machines should not be sta- 
tioned more than 150 feet from the place where other employees were at work, 
and the committee found, as a matter of fact, that the mining companies gen- 
erally were operating in accordance with this act. 

From its investigation the committee has concluded that the one-man drill 
in this district is an economic necessity and that the mining companies operating 
in the district will insist on continuing its use. * * * 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 93 

Minimum wage. — From the tables and information given in the earlier part 
of this report, showing the varying conditions at the different mines, the 
contrast in the copper content per ton of rock mined by the different com- 
panies, the costs of mining in the different mines, it is apparent that a general 
minimum scale of wages applied to all of the mines of the Michigan copper dis- 
trict can not be put into effect without working injustice both to the operator 
and to the employee. The injustice to the operator comes in the fact, as 
demonstrated, that those companies which are now operating at a loss and 
those companies which will operate at a loss at the average price of copper 
will either have to be able to operate at a greater loss or close down their 
mines. Several of the companies now operating, if the minimum wage de- 
manded by the Western Federation of Miners went into effect, would have to 
go out of business and cause, of course, the throwing out of employment of a 
great many men. On the other hand, a uniform scale of wages, doing away 
with the contract system among the miners and trammers, would work hard- 
ship upon a large body of the employees who now earn wages in excess of the 
scale advocated by the Western Federation of Miners. 

The real question, of course, is whether or not the men working in the 
copper industry of Michigan are being paid an adequate wage for the work 
which they perform. If a company can not operate and pay its employees a 
living wage, that company should cease operations. 

The contract system. — The contract system which is in vogue in the copper 
country has existed for a great many years. The chief objection to it is the 
objection made by some of the men that under the system there are months 
when they do not obtain enough pay to afford them a living. The committee 
investigated this feature as fully as it was able to do without having the 
specific complaints of all of the men before it. The committee investigated all 
cases presented to it of men who claimed to have worked an entire month on 
contract without having made adequate wages because of poor ground or hard 
luck, and found that in some instances the docket or pay check for one month 
would seem to bear out their claim, but. on taking an average of six months 
or twelve months, it was invariably found that the average pay made was con- 
siderably higher than the one month submitted to the committee. Contracts 
are let for periods of two or three months by the mines, and whereas in some 
instances during the first month the pay made by the men was comparatively 
small, when the three months are taken together and averaged the pay amounts 
to a considerably higher figure. The advantages of the contract system, as 
claimed by the mine operators and by many of the men, are that it affords the 
efficient miner or trammer an opportunity to make good pay and gives him a 
chance to increase his own efficiency and increase his compensation in propor- 
tion thereto. 

In examining the pay rolls of the various companies and tabulating the same, 
the committee found that there was a wide discrepancy in the wages paid to the 
various classes of labor in the various mines. The wages paid by some of 
the companies average considerably higher than the wages paid at some of 
the other mines, one of the reasons for this, of course, being the fact that, 
as before stated, the richer mines in the district can afford to pay higher wages. 
Other reasons are the facts that in some of the mines the work is carried on at 
a greater depth and, in some instances, under more unfavorable conditions than 
at some of the more shallow mines. The fact that this discrepancy exists also 
seems to bear out the statement that there has been no combination or con- 
certed action among the various mine managers of the district, and the com- 
mittee is informed that previous to this report there have been no comparative 
tables made of the wages paid by the various companies. * * * 

Tramming. — The conditions under which trammers work in the various mines 
differ to a great extent. In some mines where a large amount of rock is to be 
taken out from one level, it has been possible to install electric tramming, which 
means that the work of the trammer consists in loading the cars, which are 
then hauled to the shaft by electric motors. In other mines where only a 
limited amount of rock is taken out at each level it has been impracticable to 
establish power tramming and the cars are pushed to the shaft by the trammers. 
The problem of lightening the work of loading and pushing tram cars has been 
one that has caused considerable trouble. The average car trammed by two 
men holds 2* tons of rock. The distance which it is required that trammers 
push the car varies, at different levels in the various mines, from 50 feet to 
distances of fifteen or sixteen hundred feet. The cars are of various types and 
trammers can be found who insist that each particular kind of car is the best. 



94 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

All the cars rim on steel rails and the levels and the tracks are graded with a 
down grade toward the shaft in favor of the loaded car. The number of cars 
required to be taken out by men who work on day's pay varies with the varying 
conditions and the distances to be trammed. 

Loading conditions also vary. In some cases the tram cars are loaded by 
shoveling from the floor of the drift, in some places they are loaded from chutes, 
and wherever possible a loading platform or sollar is constructed level with the 
top of the car so that the work of loading is minimized. In some instances the 
men push the cars a short distance, from which point the cars are hauled by 
electric or cable haulage. The tramming is done in many cases by contract, 
and a comparison of the pay made by trammers working on day's pay with 
those working on contract shows that contract trammers make by far the big- 
gest wages. At the same time they accomplish more work, and it has been 
found that the contract trammer who makes the biggest pay is also the best 
man for the operator. Contract trammers in the mines from which the com- 
mittee has been able to obtain statistics tram on an average of 21 tons, while 
trammers working on company account or day's pay average from 12 to 14 
tons. * * * 

The demand for an eight-hour shift. — The problem of working hours for 
underground employees in the mines of Michigan seems to be one of the hardest 
to solve. In other industries where work is performed on surface and is not 
complicated by the necessity for conveying the men to and from their work the 
eight-hour proposition is in most instances merely one of dollars and cents. 
When applied to work underground many complications and problems creep 
in which make it hard to establish a uniform rule. It is conceded, even by the 
men who are now out on strike, that underground employees of the mines in 
Michigan do not actually work more than 8 hours a shift, but it is claimed 
that the hours from the time the men leave the surface until they are returned 
to the surface amounts to 10 or more hours out of the day. 

In other mining districts where operations are conducted nearer the surface 
and under totally different conditions it has been found practicable to put into 
effect a so-called eight-hour shift. In many of these mines the copper deposits 
lie in the shape of a blanket deposit, and men are lowered to a certain depth 
in the mine, from which all operations are carried on. 

In the Michigan mines the copper deposits lie in a vein dipping from the sur- 
face, and operations are carried on at many different levels, necessitating the 
lowering of men to different distances in the mine and, of course, returning 
them from different levels. Added to this is the immense depth of Michigan 
mines as compared to other mines, all of which makes the time of lowering the 
men to their work and bringing them back to surface probably longer than in 
any other mining district. There also enters into this problem the necessity 
for keeping skips, or cars by which rock is hoisted out of the mine, in operation 
for a long enough period to hoist the rock broken by the miners; in other words, 
the time taken up in hoisting and lowering men deducts just that much time 
from the period during which rock can be hoisted. 

As a matter of safety, men are lowered in the mine at certain fixed hours 
in the beginning of the shift and are brought back to surface at certain fixed 
hours at the end of the shift. During these hours no rock is hoisted. Every 
precaution is taken by the companies in the hoisting and lowering of men. 
Special cages are put oil for their use, and in some of the mines special cables 
are used. The cages containing the men, which carry only a limited number 
(the most lowered at one time being about 30), are run at a moderate rate of 
speed, which is made necessary by the immense depth of the mines. It should 
be borne in mind that at some of the deeper workings of the Calumet & Hecla 
mine the men are lowered on an incline shaft for a distance of a mile and one- 
half. The length of these shafts makes it imperative that great care should be 
taken in their upkeep and maintenance, and as an illustration of their care it may 
be stated that in the Calument & Hecla mine some 300 men are employed solely 
on shaft work in keeping the shafts in repair and in working condition. * * * 

It must be borne in mind that in the deeper mines, although the men quit 
work underground at about the same time, a great number of them are hoisted 
to surface at the same shaft and with the same cage, and consequently it is 
necessary that some of the men wait their turn to get on the cage and be taken 
to surface, which means that considerable time elapses between the time they 
stop work and reach the surface over and above the actual time taken to hoist 
them. Under the system used by most of the mines the men who are lowered 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 95 

first in the beginning of the shift are given the privilege of coming out first 
at the end of the shift. * * * 

Three shifts. — It is impracticable in the mines of the copper district of Michi- 
gan to work three eight-hour shifts, this for various reasons, one reason being 
the fact that it takes so much time to lower the men to work and to bring them 
back to surface, another reason being that at the end of the day's work when 
the miners blast their holes, a period of from one to two hours must elapse 
before men can work in the same place again because of the gases which are 
generated by the explosions. 

In some of the mining districts of the United States, notably the Butte dis- 
trict, the men work an eight-hour shift, going to their work on their own time, 
but being brought to the surface on the company's time. In the mines in Mich- 
gan no attempt has heretofore been made to inaugurate any kind of an eight- 
hour shift. * * * 

Treatment of men by petty bosses. — In regard to the complaint that was made 
by some of the men of the treatment by petty bosses, it may be said that this 
complaint is a general complaint which is bound to exist in any industry which 
requires the number of petty bosses that are required in the mining industry. 
It may be taken for granted that no mine manager wants his underbosses to 
mistreat his men, and the solution of this problem lies in providing an adequate 
method by which men can present their grievances to the management. It is 
claimed by some of the men that they dare not make complaints against a petty 
boss without incurring the displeasure of that boss and running the chance 
of losing their jobs. It is undoubtedly true that some of the bosses who are pro- 
moted from the ranks are not competent to handle the men under them. It is 
undoubtedly also true that many of the complaints that are now heard against 
underbosses arise out of feelings of jealousy and personal grudge, and can not 
be adjusted in a general way, but can only be taken up in individual cases 
and sifted to find the truth. The committee believes that all of the mine mana- 
gers of the copper district would willingly adjust any legitimate complaint 
against any of the minor bosses if brought to their attention. 

Access to management. — As to the presentation of grievances, the committee 
finds the fact to be that many of the men feel they have no way of getting to 
the men in authority who could adjust their grievances. This problem is one 
largely of reassuring men of the fact that they may go freely to their employers 
and present their grievances and troubles without incurring discrimination. 
Heretofore in the district this has been accomplished at times by committees 
in the case of general grievances, and at times by the individual making a 
personal visit to the man in authority. The committee has tried to ascertain 
whether or not any mining company has discriminated against any man or has 
discharged him for making complaints, and has been unable to find one case 
where that has been done. Nevertheless, the fact remains that many of the 
men do not feel free to go to their employers with their grievances. The com- 
mittee also has been unable to find a single case where any empolyer, mine 
manager, or person in authority has refused to meet with any man or with any 
committee of the men to discuss the grievances and problems arising during 
the course of the work. If some method could be adopted by which the men 
could be assured that they might come freely to their employers and tell their 
troubles and present their grievances without incurring any displeasure or dis- 
crimination, the problem of presentation of grievances would be solved. 

Conclusion. — Undoubtedly, by withholding this report for some future time, 
the committee would be enabled to embody much valuable information and data 
which is not at hand at the present, but it is felt that the publication of the 
leport at this time, giving the facts as the committee has found them, may help 
to clear away many of the false issues that have been raised and may do some- 
thing toward bringing to a termination the unfortunate state of affairs existing 
in the copper country. 

The committee has come to the conclusion that : 

1. The mine managers will not recognize the Western Federation of Miners. 

2. No minimum wage applicable to all mines in the district can be established 
with justice to all parties concerned. 

3. The one-man drill has come, to stay. 
The committee has also concluded: 

1. That the question of establishing some kind of an eight-hour working day 
ought to receive the serious consideration of both men and operators. 

2. That some attempt ought to be made to provide an adequate method by 
which the employee can obtain and have perfectly free access to the manage- 



96 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

ment for the purpose of presenting grievances without fear of discrimination 
or discharge. 

With these conclusions in mind, the committee decided to meet the man- 
agers of the various mining companies and put before them its findings rela- 
tive to an eight-hour shift and the presentation of grievances, with the hope 
that something might be done to adjust those matters. 

At the meeting which was held there were present managers or other repre- 
sentatives of each of the companies mentioned in the report, and the following 
statement was made to the committee and agreed to by each representative: 

1. That, as previously stated, the mining companies had under favorable con- 
sideration for some time previous to the strike the establishment of an eight- 
hour working day for underground employees; that the different conditions at 
the various mines render it impossible to work out an absolutely uniform 
working-day for all underground employees at all of the mines ; that each man- 
agement will work the problem out with reference to its own peculiar condi- 
tions ; that this could not be done in a short time ; but that each management 
will establish and have in operation an eight-hour working-day for under- 
ground employees on or before January 1, 1914. 

2. That the adjustment of grievances ultimately rests with the general man- 
ager, superintendent, or man highest in authority at the mine; that, therefore, 
the solution of the grievance problem lies in providing and maintaining a 
method of free access between the men and the general manager or official 
highest in authority at the mine; that, therefore, each manager will set aside 
a certain fixed day or half day in each week- as a day for hearing complaints 
and grievances; that he will devote such day exclusively to meeting men and 
hearing complaints; that he will investigate every complaint presented to 
him and will adjust every legitimate grievance with all possible speed; that 
he will see to it that no man is discriminated or militated against because of 
presenting complaints; that he will prepare a notice embodying the above and 
will distribute it among his employees. 

The committee feels that with the inauguration of the above plans there 
must necessarily come closer acquaintance between employer and employee, 
from which will result untold good to both parties. 

On October 30 the various mining companies issued a public state- 
ment to the Copper Country Commercial Club, which reported the 
agreement for an eight-hour day by January 1. and the plans for hear- 
ing grievances, as previously given publicity in the report of the club, 
and added the following statement: 

That on condition of withdrawal from the Western Federation of Miners all 
former employees will be reemployed without discrimination because of having 
been a member of that organization, or because of nationality, reserving the 
right to exercise discretion as to the reemployment of those known to have en- 
gaged in lawlessness, intimidation, or inciting thereto. This offer will not be 
continued for long. 

The commercial club, in giving this statement to the public, said : 

The Copper Country Commercial Club desires in this way to make known to 
all interested the present willingness of the companies to take back substan- 
tially all of their old employees on these terms. If acted upon quickly the 
strikers will now have an opportunity for reemployment. All citizens of the 
community are urged to assist, through this present opportunity, in bringing an 
end to the strike. 

DISCRIMINATION AND ADJUSTMENT OF GRIEVANCES. 

Before the strike of 1913 employees of the copper mining companies 
were seldom asked whether or not they belonged to the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners, and instances of discrimination against members 
of the federation were not common. The mine workers made little 
complaint about such discrimination. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 97 

The schedule of inquiries which the companies involved in the 
strike were requested to answer contained the following inquiries : 

1. Have officers or captains of the company ever questioned employees as to 
whether or not they were members of the Western Federation of Miners? 

2. Have employees been discharged or discriminated against because of mem- 
bership in the federation? If so, state the circumstances. 

3. In employing men since the strike began, are they asked whether or not 
they are members of the federation; and if they are members (a) are they re- 
employed, and (6) are they required to withdraw from the federation? 

4. How were employees before the strike able to present grievances without 
incurring discrimination or prejudice? 

The answers of the various companies, which follow, were made 
during August and September, 1913. 

Relations with Employees, 
no. 1. calumet & hecla mining co. 

1. Yes; in individual cases. 

2. Only a few cases of men who have been agitating while in the mine or 
were openly opposing the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 

3. We have employed no men since the strike commenced, except men who 
we knew did not belong to the Western Federation of Miners, and when time 
comes will insist that applicants, if members, withdraw from the Western 
Federation of Miners. 

4. Our employees have at all times been able to present their grievances as 
individuals, and have had the right to go to the president of the company if 
necessary. There is a distinct understanding that an employee who has taken 
a grievance higher than his immediate superior shall not be discriminated 
against. In cases where the differences are of a personal nature we have 
transferred the man to another department. 

NOS. 2, 3, AND 4. OSCEOLA CONSOLIDATED MINING CO., NOETH KEARSARGE MINE, AND 

SOUTH KEARSARGE MINE. 

1. No official questioning of employees as to membership in the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners has been done. Doubtless there have been cases where a 
foreman has asked men the question to satisfy his own curiosity — not for the 
purpose of making a record of it. 

2. No. 

3. Yes. (a) Men working for the company before the strike began will be 
reemployed if they have been guilty of no violent or vicious acts, but (6) they 
will be required to withdraw from the Western Federation of Miners. 

4. Individual employees or committees of employees are always at liberty to 
call upon the officer of this company to present grievances or to make requests ; 
in no case within the knowledge of the writer has any discrimination or preju- 
dice been incurred thereby. 

NO. 5. ISLE ROYALE COPPER CO. 

1. No; there has never been any question as to membership in the federation. 

2. No; they have not. 

3. Nonstrikers were not out of our employ, and therefore not asked, (a) 
Yes. (6) Yes; they are required to withdraw from the federation. 

4. Our employees came to office in person or their committee, or by mail, and 
have not been discriminated against. 

NO. 6. AHMEEK MINING CO. 

1. Have never made a practice of asking the men whether or not they were 
members of the Western Federation of Miners. 

2. Have never discriminated against any employee on account of membership 
in federation. 

27603— S. Doc. 381, 62-3 7 



98 MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT STRIKE. 

3. Have not hired anybody since the strike started. When we resume opera- 
tions we intend to ask every one of whom we are at all doubtful whether they 
belong or not, and we also will require them to withdraw from the federation. 

4. All employees have been told that if they were not satisfied with adjust- 
ment from their immediate foreman they could always take it up with the 
superintendent, who would take it up with the general manager, and no one was 
ever discriminated or prejudiced against. 

NO. 7. TAMARACK MINING CO. 

1. Yes. 

2. No. 

3. (a) Yes; (&) yes. 

4. By personal interviews with superintendent or general manager. 

NO. 8. ALLOUEZ MINING CO. 

1. No. 

2. No. 

3. When actual mining operations are resumed, all applicants for work will 
be asked if they belong to the Western Federation of Miners Union, and if so, 
required to withdraw from said organization before they are hired. 

4. Employees have been repeatedly told that if they had any grievance, real 
or imaginary, they could take it up with the captain; if his solution of the 
difficulty was not satisfactory, then to the superintendent, and if still unsatis- 
factory, to the general superintendent or general manager, and in no case would 
discrimination or prejudice be shown. 

NO. 9. SUPERIOR COPPER CO. 

1. No ; with the exception of one case where I questioned a man with whom 
I have been on very good terms. 

2. No. 

3. Yes. (a) . (6) No; unless they withdraw from the Western Federa- 
tion of Miners. 

4. I have known of no case of discrimination on this account. Minor griev- 
ances, such as contract prices, bad conditions underground, incompetent partners, 
individual cases of injustice, are continually being presented to trammer bosses, 
shift bosses, and the captain, and any such grievances not satisfactorily ad- 
justed were brought to me as superintendent. The employee still dissatified 
has always had the right to go over my head and lay his case before the gen- 
eral superintendent or the general manager. 

NO. 10. CENTENNIAL COPPER MINING CO. 

1. NO. 

2. No. 

3. When actual mining operations are resumed, all applicants for work will 
be asked if they belong to the Western Federation of Miners Union, and if so, 
required to withdraw from said organization before they can obtain work. 

4. Employees have been told that if they had a grievance, real or imaginary, 
and were not satisfied with the captain's decision, they could bring it before 
the superintendent, and if still unsatisfactory, to the general superintendent 
or general manager, and in no case would prejudice or discrimination be shown 

NO. 11. LA SALLE COPPER CO. 

1. The superintendent and the captains have occasionally asked employee* 
as to whether or not they were members of the Western Federation of Miners 

2. No. 

3. Men are asked whether or not they are members of the federation when 
they apply for work since the strike began. If members, they may be reem- 
ployed if they are considered desirable, provided that they withdraw from the 
federation. 

4. Employees have always been able to present grievances without incurring 
discrimination or prejudice by doing so in any honorable way. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 99 

NO. 12. LAUK1UM MINING CO. 

1. Employees have sometimes been questioned as to whether or not they 
were members of the Western Federation of Miners. 

2. No employees have been discharged or discriminated against because of 
membership in the federation. 

3. Applicants for work since the strike began are asked whether or not they 
are members of the federation. Members may be employed if they are consid- 
ered desirable, but only on condition that they withdraw from the federation. 

4. Employees have always been able to present grievances without incurring 
discrimination or prejudice by doing so in any honorable way. 

NOS. 13, 14, AND 15. BALTIC MINING CO., TEIMOUNTAIN MINING CO., CHAMPION 

COPPEE CO. 

1. The only time questions were asked was after notice from the local of the 
Western Federation of Miners was received, a full account of which was fur- 
nished you in my letter of the 18th instant. 

2. Any known organizers of the Western Federation of Miners were dis- 
charged when identified. Only four or five such cases occurred previous to the 
strike. 

3. Yes ; and they are not employed unless they state that they are no longer 
members of the Western Federation of Miners and do not propose to have any- 
thing more to do with it. 

4. Only by speaking of their grievances to their bosses or to the general man- 
ager, or by striking. 

NO. 16. QUINCY MINING CO. 

1. No. 

2. No. 

3. No. The great majority of strikers are Finns, Austrians, and Italians 
who can not speak English. 

4. In any manner they choose. 

NO. 17. MOHAWK MINING CO. 

1. In conversation with the men the question may have been asked. 

2. No. | 

3. No men have been employed since the strike. 

4. By consulting the superintendent. 

NO. 18. WOLVERINE COPPEE MINING CO. 

1. In conversation with the men the question may have been asked. 

2. No. 

3. None have been employed since the strike. 

4. By consulting the superintendent. 

NO. 19. FEANKLIN MINING CO. 

1. Not to our knowledge. 

2. No. 

3. No men hired since strike. 

4. Each employee has a pay book on which is printed the following : " Com- 
munications and complaints must be made to the foreman of your department." 

NOS. 20 AND 21. WINONA COPPEE CO. AND HOUGHTON COPPEE CO. 

1. No. 

2. No. 

3. We have so far not reemployed any men at either the Winona or the 
Houghton. The watchmen, pumpmen, etc., now employed we do not believe 
are members of the federation. 

4. By bringing their grievances either directly to their foreman or to the 
superintendent. 



100 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

NO. 22. MASS CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

1. Not to our knowledge. If they have done so, it is without our knowledge 
or orders. 

2. No. 

3. No men have been employed since the strike began. 

4. Personally or by means of a committee of their own number. 

NO, 23. HANCOCK CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

1. No. 

2. No. 

3. Have not employed any new men since strike began, (a) Old employees 
will be reemployed as required, provided they withdraw from federation. (&) 
Yes. 

4. As far as we know, employees had no grievances ; if they had any, they did 
not make them known to the officials of the company. The company is now 
and always has been ever ready to meet its employees relative to any grievances, 
but as noted, if the employees had any grievances, they did not make them 
known to the proper officers of the company. If employees had any grievances, 
they could have in the past and will in the future be able to present them to the 
proper officers of this company without incurring discrimination or prejudice. 

NO. 24. ONECO COPPER MINING CO. 

1. No. 

2. No. 

3. Have not employed any new men since strike began, (a) Old employees 
will be reemployed as required, provided they withdraw from federation. (6) 
Yes. 

4. As far as we know, employees had no grievances ; if they had any, they did 
not make them known to the officials of the company. The company is now 
and always has been ever ready to meet its employees relative to any grievances, 
but as noted, if the employees had any grievances, they did not make them known 
known to the proper officers of the company. If employees had any grievances 
they could have in the past, and will in the future, be able to present them to 
the officials of this company without incurring discrimination or prejudice. 

NO. 25. LAKE COPPER CO. 

1. Very rarely. 

2. In a very few cases, when men appeared to be trouble makers. 

3. None have been employed since the strike. • 

4. Employees have always had the opportunity of presenting a grievance 
either singly or in a body to either the foremen or the manager without incur- 
ring discrimination. 

During the strike all of the companies decided not to reemploy men 
who were members of the Western Federation of Miners unless they 
should withdraw from that organization, and all men employed or 
reemployed were required to promise that they would have no con- 
nection with it. 

In spite of the replies of the companies that employees before the 
strike had full opportunities to present their grievances to the higher 
company officials, it is a fact that many of the mine workers felt that 
they were unjustly treated by the petty bosses and that it would be 
useless for them to appeal to the higher officials. Many felt that if 
they went over the heads of the petty bosses the latter would be 
prejudiced against them and would give them harder tasks. The 
petty bosses usually belong to the races whose representatives have 
been engaged longest in mining in this district. The other mine 
workers are largely of races whose representatives have more recently 
come to the district. It is commonly asserted by the mine workers 
that in assigning working places and fixing wage and contract rates 
the bosses favor men of their respective races. Probably one reason 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 101 

why many mine workers who considered that they had a grievance 
did not appeal to the higher officials was that they could not speak 
English or could speak it only imperfectly. 

The report of the committee appointed by the executive committee 
of the Copper Country Commercial Club to investigate the strike, 
approved by the club on October 10, 1913, stated that at a meeting of 
the managers or representatives of the mining companies each of 
them had agreed that he would set aside a certain day or half day 
in each week exclusively for hearing grievances, that he would adjust 
legitimate grievances as speedily as possible, that he would not dis- 
criminate against anyone who might present a grievance, and that 
he would distribute a notice to this effect among his employees. 1 

CONCESSIONS THE COMPANIES WOULD MAKE. 

Miners on day shift work five full shifts from Monday to Friday, 
inclusive, and half a shift on Saturday, or five and one-half shifts a 
week. Miners on day shift one week, change to night shift the next 
week, and those on night shift change to day shift. Miners on night 
shift work only five shifts a week, from Monday night to Friday night. 
The shifts of miners, day or night, from Monday to Friday are from 
9 to 10 hours, according to the facilities provided for lowering men 
into or bringing men up from the shaft. On Saturday miners work 
half a day shift. 

Trammers on either day or night shift work five full shifts from 
Monday to Friday, inclusive, the hours being the same as for miners, 
but on Saturday the day and night shifts of trammers are from seven 
to eight hours. 

The hours here given for both miners and trammers include the 
time required to go down and come up. but does not include one hour 
allowed for luncheon. 

Several mine managers have intimated that they would be willing 
to operate their mines on an eight-hour working basis— that is, eight 
hours per day for six days a week. R. R. Seeber. superintendent of the 
Winona Copper Co. and the Houghton Copper Co., stated to an agent 
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics that he would be glad for miners to 
work on a schedule of eight hours, and would allow them to go down 
into the mine or return to the surface on the company's time : that is. 
one way of the trip being made on the company's time and the other 
way on the miners' time, as is allowed in Butte. Mont., under con- 
tracts that the Western Federation of Miners have witli the mine 
managers there. 

F. W. Denton, general manager of the Copper Range Consolidated 
Co., stated to an agent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics that he be- 
lieved that the mining companies could afford to make some conces- 
sions on working hours, and that he had " always regarded it as 
ridiculous that hours for all men working underground were not the 
same." 

The reply of the mine managers to Mr. Momtt, representing the 
United States Department of Labor, and their reply to Judge Mur- 
phy, representing the governor, stated that for some time prior to 
the inception of the strike the mining companies had considered the 

1 See extract from report of the committee under "Arbitration proposals unavailing." 



102 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

question of reducing the working hours to eight for underground men. 
as far as the change would be found to be practicable. 

The report of the committee appointed by the executive committee 
of the Copper Country Commercial Club to investigate the strike, 
approved by the club on October 10, 1913, says that at a meeting of 
the managers or other representatives of the mining companies each 
of them had agreed to put in operation an eight-hour working-day for 
underground employees on or before January 1, 1914, and that each 
would set aside one day or half a day each week exclusively for hear- 
ing grievances. 1 

If the working hours were reduced to eight, the shifts of miners 
would be but little shortened. This is illustrated by the following 
table showing the hours a miner works during a fortnight at present, 
compared with the time he would work on an eight-hour basis : 

Hours of miners at present. 

Hrs. min. 
5 days, 9£ hours a day, including time required to descend and ascend, 

but not including 1 hour for luncheon 47 30 

Saturday, including time required to descend and ascend 5 30 

5 nights, 9i hours a night, including time required to go down and come 

up, but not including 1 hour for luncheon 47 30 

Total for 2 wroks 100 30 

Hour* of miners on 8-hour basis. 

Hrs. min. 

6 days, 8| hours a day, including time required either to descend or 
ascend, but not including 1 hour for luncheon 49 30 

nights, same 49 30 

Total for 2 weeks 99 00 

If the working hours were reduced to 8, the shifts of trammers 
would be shortened about 11 hours in 12 days, as shown by the fol- 
lowing table : 

Hours of trammers at present. 

Hrs. min. 
5 days, 94 hours a day, including time required to descend and ascend, 
but not including 1 hour for luncheon 47 30 

5 nights, same 47 30 

1 day, Saturday, including time required to descend and ascend, but not 
includling 1 hour for luncheon 7 30 

1 night, Saturday, same 7 30 

Total for 2 weeks 110 00 

Hours of trammers on 8-hour oasis. 

Hrs. Min. 

6 days, 8i hours a day, including time required either to descend or 
ascend, but not including 1 hour for luncheon 49 30 

6 nights, same 49 30 

Total for 2 weeks 99 00 

In the first part of each of these tables an allowance of 30 minutes 
is made for the trip going down and coming up. In the second part 
of the tables allowance of 15 minutes is made for the trip one way. 
as in Butte, where the 8-hour system prevails, the miners make the 
trip one way on the company's time and one way on their own time. 

1 See extract from report of the committee under "Arbitration proposals unavailing," 
p. 96. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 103 

For two reasons it would be impracticable for the mines to be 
operated on the basis of three eight-hour shifts a day. One reason is 
that considerable time is required for the man cages to carry the men 
down into the shafts (the shafts in Michigan being very deep) and 
to bring them to the surface. The other reason is that there must be 
an interval between men ascending and others descending to permit 
the fumes of powder resulting from the blasting to clear away. 

TThile several of the mine managers who were interviewed by the 
agent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that some concessions 
might be made as to working hours, they did not talk as if any 
other concessions could be granted. As a rule the mining companies 
that pay dividends to their stockholders pay larger wages to their 
employees than do the nondividend-paying mines. The claim is made 
by the managers of nondividend-paying mines that they can not 
afford to pay wages equal to those paid by the dividend-paying 
mines. This argument was used by James MacXaughton, general 
manager of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., which company pays 
the highest wages paid to mine workers in the district. The answer 
of the men is that all of the mining companies should pay fair wages 
or quit mining. Mining is a business of much uncertainty as to pro- 
duction, and developing a " prospect " is in the nature of a gambling 
operation. But those who are gambling in " prospects " should them- 
selves stand the expense, and not require their employees to stand 
part of it by paying them low wages. They would not expect to 
buy mine machinery and materials for any less than the market 
rates because their mines are still in the development stage, and there 
is no better reason why they should expect to employ labor for less 
wages than are paid by the producing mines. If the " prospects v 
turn out to be big producers as hoped for. the profits will not be 
divided with employees in the past, but will go to the owners in the 
form of dividends. F. W. Denton, general manager of the Copper 
Range Consolidated Co.. stated to an agent of the Bureau that in 
his opinion mining companies should pay fair wages or quit the 
business, and he instanced one mine of another company which he 
said ought to be closed up. 

UNDERGROUND CONDITIONS. 

The mines in the Michigan copper district are entered by shafts, 
either incline or vertical. At the top of each shaft is a shaft house 
which contains a powerful engine. This engine operates a drum on 
which is wound the cable that is used for lowering empty skips or 
cars into the mine and for drawing skips loaded with copper-bearing 
rock to the surface. In the same way, man cages conveying the 
underground workers are lowered into the mine and hoisted to the 
surface. 

An inclined shaft follows the pitch of the copper lode. At the 
depth of every 100 or 125 feet drifts or levels are dug from the shaft 
along the lode in either direction, and from these levels stopes are 
dug upward from one level to the next one above. A stope is a sec- 
tion of the lode from which the ore is being taken out. Along the 
levels are laid tracks on which tramcars are pushed by men or 
drawn by motors or mules. The tramcars are loaded at the stopes 



104 MICHIGAN" COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

with the copper-bearing rock, and when they reach the shaft the 
rock is dumped into the skip. 

Cutting a drift is called " drifting," and cutting a stope is called 
"stoping," but the first cut that is made above the drift is called 
" drift stoping." All of these operations are done by drilling and 
blasting. 

In the Michigan copper district the ore is in either conglomerate 
or amygdaloid rock. Most of the mines are amygdaloid, and the 
only conglomerate mines are operated by the Calumet & Hecla Min- 
ing Co. A conglomerate mine is one in which the rock consists of 
rounded and water-worn debris of rock or pebbles, united into a 
compact mass containing mineral deposits. Amygdaloid means al- 
mond shaped, and it is an igneous rock containing almond-shaped 
nodules in which mineral has been deposited. 

In the conglomerate mines it is necessary to use a great deal of 
heavy timber, which is placed between the floor and roof in the 
drifts and stopes to prevent the roof from falling in. Amygdaloid 
is a much stronger rock, and in amygdaloid mines but little timber- 
ing is used, and the roof is supported by pillars or sections of the 
rock which are left undisturbed. In some mines rock walls are built 
along the sides of the drift. Timbers called " stulls " are placed 
across the drift on top of the walls, and other timbers called " lag- 
ging " are placed lengthwise on the stulls to form the roof. 

Following is a brief description of the work that is done by under- 
ground men: 

Miner. — Bars down loose rock; operates drill machines; charges 
and fires blasts. The last work done on a shift is blasting. After 
an interval of two hours a new shift comes on and the first work 
done by the miner in that shift is to loosen the broken rock resulting 
from the blast, using a bar for that purpose. Miners work singly 
or in pairs, according as they use one-man or two-man machines. 

Trammer. — Loads tramcars and pushes them to the shaft. Usu- 
ally there are two men to a car, sometimes three. In some mines the 
trammers dump the rock from the cars into the skip in which it is 
hoisted up the shaft to the crusher in the shaft house on the surface. 
In some mines there are other men who do the dumping, and in 
some mines the cars are dumped by mechanical tipplers. 

Timberman. — Places timbers in shaft, drifts, and stopes to support 
the roof of the mine. 

Laborer. — Drags or picks down the rock from the stopes to the 
drifts; builds rock walls and fills stopes with poor rock; helps 
timbermen. 

Trackman. — Builds and repairs tramcar tracks. 

Boy. — Carries drills ; operates small hoists that raise dirt from the 
bottom of new shafts. 

The following table, compiled from data furnished by the mining 
companies, shows the pitch of the copper-bearing lodes or veins, in 
degrees with the horizon, the average thickness of the veins, the 
depths of the shafts, the distances from the shafts to the stopes, and 
the grades of the drifts or levels : 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



105 



Mine. 


Pitch of 
vein. 


Average 
thickness 
of vein. 


Depth of shaft. 


Distance from shaft 
to stopes. 


Grade ofl 


On in- 
cline. 


Vertical. 


Shortest. 


Longest. 


levels. 


Ahmeek 


Degrees. 
411 
41* 

35J 
35| 
40-41 


Feet. 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 


Feet. 
2,506 
2,683 
2,152 
2,170 
3,486 
3,407§ 
2,230 
2,630 
2,550 
1,620 
200-8, 100 


Feet. 
1,723 
1,814 
1,740 
1,751 
2,641 
2,937 
2,103 
2,470 
2,397 
1,520 
120-4,900 


Feet. 
100 


Feet. 
1,045 


Inches per 
lOOfeet. 

7* 


















427 


2,235 


10 


Baltic 




70-72 


30-35 


50 


1,400 


3 


Calumet & Hecla 
























37-38 


15 

12 

12 

12-13 


15 

75 

75 

736 


1,200 
1,900 
1,900 
1,653 


4 


Centennial 


6-10 








6-10 


38-39 


3,821 
4,293 
2,530 
2,495 
2,108 
2,384 
3,600 
1,428 


2,383 

2,592 

2,387 

2,354 

1,989 

2,249 

2,546 

1,166 

4,000 

C 1 ) 

2,620 

1,607 

960 
1,284 

950 
1,453 
1,220 
1,115 
1,136 
1,131 

753 
C 1 ) 

C 1 ) 

(}) 

C 1 ) 
0) 

(!) 

(!) 

717 
« 
C 1 ) 
4,731 


10 


Champion 




70-72 


30-35 


100 


2,600 


3 


Franklin 























45 
38-54 


9 

6-7 


90 
50 


1,200 
1,000 


12 


Hancock 


10 


Houghton 




52 
56 


20 

8 


620 
3,162 
1,939| 
1,1681 

1,549 
1,666 
2,146 
1,770 
1,650 
1,741 
1,656 
1,104 
2,379 
2,364 
1,476 
1,963 
1,383 
898 
3,873* 
3,276i 
1,449 
1,250 
4,263 
4,609 
6,597 
2,820§ 
1,992* 
1,978 


( '\oo 


0) 

1,500 


( x ) 


Isle Royale 


10 


Lake 

























35 
44 


40-50 
10 


100 
75 


650 
300 


5 


La Salle 


8* 


Laurium 




43 
43 


10 
10 


( 2 ) 

400 
200 

50 


( 2 ) 
C 1 ) 

700 
1,400 
1,500 


84 


Mass 


5 


Mohawk 










35-40 


14 


5 


North Kearsarge 

Oneco 

Osceola 

Quincy 








:::::::::: 








i 






















40 


12 


100 


1,600 


9 












35" 

40 


14 
10 


( 2 ) 

150 


( 2 ) 
2,030 


10 

9 


.... 

52 

40 


6 
12 


0) 

110 


3,000 
900 


12 


South Kearsarge 

Superior 

Tamarack 

Trimouutain 

Winona 


9 






53 
37i 


20 
20 


1,600 
3,409 
4,355 
3 5,253 
4,450 
5,308 
2,656 
2,203 
2,184 


100 

1,100 


1,100 
2,500 


10 
10 










































70-72 


30-35 


2,815 
2,335 
2,315 
1,272 
1,406 
1,700 
3,995 
3,872 


100 


1,100 


3 














68 


20 


50 


800 


n 


Wolverine 




40 


12 




50 


1,400 


10 
















1 










1 



1 Not reported. 

2 No stoping has been done. 

8 From the 5,223H°ot level an incline shaft extends to an additional depth of 495 feet. 

Most of the shafts are inclined and follow the pitch of the vein, 
which varies from 35° to 72°. There are only a few vertical shafts. 
As will be seen, there are great differences in the depths of the shafts, 
and the greatest differences are in the shafts of the Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co., which vary from 200 to 8,100 feet on an incline, from 120 



106 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



to 4 ; 900 feet vertically. Some of the shafts in the Conglomerate 
lode of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. are the deepest shafts in the 
world. 1 

The distances from the shafts to the stcpes vary from 15 feet in one 
of the Calumet & Hecla shafts to 3,000 feet in one of the Quincy 
shafts. The grades of the drifts vary from 3 inches in 100 feet in the 
Baltic. Champion, and Trimountain mines to 12 inches hi Franklin 
and Quincy mmes. The grade of the drift is a matter to be consid- 
ered in connection with the heavy work of tramming by hand-pushed 
cars. Some of the best mining engineers consider that a grade of 5 
inches in 100 feet is best, and that a steeper grade makes too hard the 
work of pushing the empty tram cars up grade back from the shaft 
to the s topes. 

The following table, compiled from data furnished by the companies, 
shows the depths of the various shafts, the number of men employed 
underground, the means of ventilation in the mines, and the sanitary 
provisions : 



Mine. 



Depth Xum- 

of ber of 
shaft men 

on in- under- 

cline. ground. 



Ventilation of mine. 



Sanitary regulations under- 
ground. 



Feet. 

Ahmeek 2,506 

2,683 
2,152 
2,170 

Allouez 3,486 

3,407* 



Centennial 


3,821 




4.293 


Copper Range 


2,230 




2,630 




2.550 




1,620 




2,815 




2.335 




2.315 




2,530 




2,495 




2,108 




2,384 


Franklin 


3,600 



305 



Calumet & Hecla... 8,100 2,783 



148 



424 Natural Men used old workings and 

sumps as closets, which places 
are disinfected whenever neces- 
sary. 

.do The men being so widely distrib- 
uted, use is made of stopes, 
drifts, or abandoned workings; 
same receive a sprinkling of 
lime occasionally. 

.do Boxes are kept which are either 

sent to surface or buried in 
caving stopes. 

.do The men being so widely distrib- 
uted, use is made of old stopes, 
drifts, or abandoned workings; 
same occasionally receive a 
sprinkling of lime". 



2,207 



Natural ventilation regulated 
by doors and stoppages where 
draft is too strong or where it 
is desired to force circulation 
to other points. 



There are no sanitary regulations 
beyond requiring levels to be 
cleaned up from time to time. 



Connections between shafts, 
raises, and compressed air. 



All waste goes into dirt to 
hoisted. 



be 



1 Deep m ining— There has been much speculation as to the depth to which it will be practicable to push 
the work of minin g. The special difficulties which attend deep mining, in addition to the problems of 
hoisting ore and raising water from great depths, are the increase of temperature of the rocks and the pressure 
of the overhung strata. The deepest mine in the world is No. 3 shaft of the Tamarack mi ne in Houghton 
Countv. Mich., whic has reached a vertical depth of about 5.200 feet. Three other shafts of the Tamarack 
Co., and three of the neighboring Calumet <£ Hecla mine have depths of between 4.000 and 5.000 feet 
vertical. The Quincv mine, also in Houghton County, has reached a vertical depth of nearly 4.000 feet. In 
England are several collieries over 3.000 feet, and in'Belgium two are nearly 4.000 feet deep. In Austria 
three shafts in the silver mines at Prizbram have reached the depth of over 1.000 meters. At Bendigo. in 
Australia, are several shafts between 3,000 and 4.000, and one, the Victoria Quartz mine. 4.300 feet deep. 
In the Transvaal gold region ( South Africa) a number of shafts have been sunk to strike the reef at about 
4,000 feet. CEncvclor»edia Britannica, eleventh edition. 1911, Vol. XVIII. p. 539.) 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



107 



Mine. 



Hancock . 



Houghton. 



IslS-Royale. 



Lake. 



La'Salle. 



Laurium. 
Mass 



Mohawk. 



North Kearsarge . 



Oneco. 



Osceola. 



Depth Xum- 



of 
shaft 
on in- 
cline. 



Feet. 
1,428 



620 



3,162 
1,939 J 
1,158* 
1,549 



2,146 
1,770 



1,650 



1,741 
1,656 
1,104 



2,379 
2,364 
1,476 
1,963 
1.383 



3, 873 § 
3, 276i 
1,449" 



1,250 



4,263 
4,609 



ber of 
men 
under- 
ground. 



117 



541 



159 



2S2 



272 



17 



242 



Ventilation of mine. 



Sanitary regulations under- 
ground. 



Natural draft through 2 shafts 
connected in upper levels and 
a brattice in the vertical shaft 
at lower levels. Air drills are 
used and air blown at the face 
after each blast. Blasting is 
done only at end of shift, the 
period between shifts allow- 
ing ample time to clear away 
practically all fumes and 



Natural, by connections bet- 
ween shafts and through 
raises from level to level, also 
a few other connections to 
surface. 

Natural 



.do. 



Natural and artificial. The 2 
shafts being connected by a 
drift on the twelfth level, 
gives good ventilation. The 
exhaust from the air-driven 
drills and pumps is more than 
sufficient for good conditions. 
After blasting, powder smoke 
is blown out by opening valves 
in the compressed air line. 

Furnished by exhaust from air- 
driven drills and pumps. 

Natural, by connections be- 
tween shafts and through 
raises from level to level; also 
a few other connections to sur- 
face. 

Natural. Upcast and downcast 
shaft; shafts all connected. 



Each mine has 2 shafts: 1 shaft, 
by reason of location or on ac- 
count of having steam pipes at 
the collar, is maintained as an 
"upcast " shaft, and the other 
shafts are "downcast." Ven- 
tilation is thus natural and ef- 
fective. 

Natural, assisted by air from 
machine drills; air being blown 
at face of drift after each blast, 
the 2-hour period between 
shifts allowing sufficient time 
to clear out practically all 
fumes. 

Each mine has 2 shafts; 1 shaft, 
by reason of location or on ac- 
count of having steam pipes at 
the collar, is maintained as an 
"upcast" shaft, and the other 
shafts are "downcast." Ven- 
tilation is thus natural and ef- 
fective. 



Small boxes are provided that 
can be removed frequently, 
dirt being used to continuously 
cover contents of box. 



Excrement is deposited in pow- 
der or candle boxes, covered 
with dirt, and hoisted. 



The use of old stopes and boxes, 
using lime for disinfectant. 



Only such regulations as ordi- 
nary common sense would 
indicate as necessary. 



Empty powder boxes are used as 
latrines. Lime is furnished, 
and the fine dirt of the mine is 
used to dilute and cover the 
contents of the boxes, which 
are brought to the surface when 
filled. 



Do. 



Receptacles aie furnished for use 
of men, and same are brought 
to surface as necessary. 



Pump sumps and abandoned out 
of the way stopes are used for 
closets. 



The old workings are commonly 
used by the men. At intervals 
quicklime is scattered in these 
places. Water-closets are pro- 
vided adjoining the change 
houses on surface. 



Men come to surface when neces- 
sarv. 



The old workings are commonly 
used by men. At intervals 
quicklime is scattered in these 
places. Water-closets are pro- 
vided adjoining the change 
houses on surface. 



108 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



Mine. 


Depth 

of 
shaft 
on in- 
cline. 


Num- 
ber of 
men 
under- 
ground. 


Ventilation of mine. 


Sanitary regulations under- 
ground. 


Quincy 


Feet. 
6,597 


1,456 


Natural 


Use of quicklime. 

The old workings are commonly 
used by the men. At intervals 
quicklime is scattered in these 
places. Water-closets are pro- 
vided adjoining the change- 
houses on surface. 


South Kearsarge . . . 


2, 820| 
1,992* 


272 


Each mine has 2 shafts; 1 shaft, 
by reason of location or on ac- 
count of having steam pipes at 
the collar, is maintained as an 
"upcast" shaft, and the other 
shafts are "downcast." Ven- 
tilation is thus natural and ef- 
fective. 


Superior 


1,978 


182 


2 shafts connected underground 
by a level. The main work- 
ing shaft is upcast. There are 
valves in the compressed air 
line at all working places, and 
free use is made of the com- 
pressed air to blow out the gas 
in addition to that exhausted 
by machines. Compresses are 
continually working between 
shifts for the purpose of blow- 
ing out foul ah and gas. 


The men go into old workings, or 
in places where men are 
bunched. Boxes and lime are 
furnished. 




Tamarack 


13,409 
14,355 

( 2 ) 
15,253 
14,450 
15,308 


476 


Natural 


Ban-els are provided as closets, 
with lime to disinfect. 












Winona 


1,272 
1,406 


296 


Natural. Some ventilating doors 
are placed in various levels to 
regulate the air flow to a cer- 
tain extent. 


Excrement is deposited in pow- 
der or candle boxes, covered 
with dirt, and hoisted. 




Wolverine 


1,700 
3,995 
3,872 


361 


Natural, due to difference in 
elevation of shaft collars, and 
exhaust air from drills and 
pumps. 


Pump sumps and abandoned out 
of the way stopes are used for 
closets. 





1 Depth of shaft, vertical feet. 

2 From the 5,223J-foot level an incline shaft extends to an additional depth of 495 feet. 

The mine managers seem to consider that the mines are sufficiently 
ventilated, but the mine workers allege the contrary and complain 
about the poor air they are compelled to breathe from 10 to 11 hours 
a day. The oxygen is consumed not only by the lungs, but by the 
open lights which underground men carry. Air enters the mine by 
the shaft, and if there are two or more shafts and they are connected 
on some levels, the air is supposed to form a current from one to the 
other. In some mines also there are raises, or openings, between the 
levels, to give additional circulation to the air. 

There are no fans for blowing fresh air into the mines, as there are 
in coal mines, and the managers allege that fans are not necessary, 
as there are no gases in copper mines. Though the shafts are in 
many cases half a mile deep on incline — in some cases a mile deep, 
and in one case a mile and a half — there is no means of artificial ven- 
tilation except the leakage from the compressed air piped from the 
surface to operate the drills and the pumps, though at the end of a 
blast the valves of the compressed-air pipes are opened to blow away 
the powder smoke. 

The sanitary arrangements are nearly as crude as they possibly 
could be. In some mines powder or candle boxes are used as latrines, 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 109 

and when filled, they are taken to the surface. In some mines dirt is 
used to cover the contents of the boxes, and in other mines lime is 
provided for that purpose. In some mines the matter goes into the 
dirt that is hoisted. In some mines the men are supposed to go to 
abandoned workings, but often they do not do this on account of 
the distance. In some mines there are no sanitary regulations 
beyond requiring levels to be cleaned up occasionally. 

A paper on "Mine sanitation," by E. B. Wilson, was distributed 
in printed form at the annual meeting of the Lake Superior Mining 
Institute, held at Houghton, Mich., in 1912, and was reprinted in 
the proceedings of the institute. 1 From this paper the following is 
quoted : 

Dr. B. W. Jones, 2 in his paper on the " Importance of the ordinary prevention of 
water-borne diseases in mines," showed that typhoid fever, tapeworm, and hookworm 
could be contracted by drinking impure water in mines. Germs of disease and the 
infectious parasites are transmitted from one person to another in many ways, but 
chiefly through the air and through water. In every metal mine employing over 25 
men arrangements should be made for evacuation. Latrines should be provided, but 
if they are not kept clean the conditions may become almost as bad as if there were 
none. Sheet-iron cans or boxes should be arranged for receivers, and into the^e dry 
sawdust and ashes should be sprinkled to act as deodorizers. Chloride of lime is not 
considered a suitable deodorizer for underground. These cans and boxes should be 
provided with covers, taken to the surface, cleaned, and returned daily. The roof 
and sides of the places should be kept fresh with whitewash, the floor cemented and 
sloped, so that it may be washed and not collect any filth. For privacy, portable 
screens might be arranged. 

* * * * * * * 

The hookworm is present in the Cornish tin mines in the Camborne district, Eng- 
land, and has been for some years. It is becoming almost general in the southern 
coal mines of the United States, and it is almost sure to enter our deep northern ore 
mines unless each operator uses great care to prevent it. Mines which become infected 
require the most drastic and expensive measures for universal extermination of the 
pest. In fact, complete eradication does not yet appear to have ever been accom- 
plished. 

All of the amygdaloid mines are comfortably cool, with tempera- 
tures varying from 50 to 75° F. The amygdaloid rock is much cooler 
than the conglomerate rock, and the rock in many amygdaloid mines 
is damp from water seepage. The only high temperatures are in 
the conglomerate lodes of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. The 
company reports the highest temperature in the deepest of these 
lodes to be 85° F. The miners, however, claim that on the lower 
levels of the mines, one of which is 8,100 feet deep on the incline, 
the temperature is always above 90°, and that on account of the 
heat their trousers are the only garments they can wear with any 
degree of comfort. As no work was done during the strike on the 
lower levels, these statements could not be verified. 

In the Franklin and Quincy mines underground men are furnished 
with drinking water from water mains. In the Lake mine drinking 
water is caught from small streams in the rock. In the Calumet & 
Hecla, Tamarack, Allouez, Isle Roy ale, Hancock, and Oneco mines 
the men are furnished with water that is brought underground in 
cans, jugs, or kegs. In all the other mines there is no provision for 
supplying underground men with water, and the mine managers seem 
to think that no water is needed by the men except what they can 
carry in the bottoms of their dinner pails. Many of the men bring 
tea or coffee instead of water in the pails. 

i Vol. XVII of the Proceedings, pp. 117-126. 

»Lake Superior Mining Institute Proceedings, Vol. XII, p. 105. 



110 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



ACCIDENTS IN AND ABOUT THE MINES. 

A bulletin on "Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States during 
the Calendar Year 1911," by Albert H. Fay, shows that in 1911 the 
number of men killed in and about the metal mines averaged 4.19 per 
1,000 men employed. It also shows that the fatalities averaged more 
in copper mines than in any other kind of metal mines. The fatalities 
averaged 5.33 per 1,000 men employed in or about copper mines, 4.29 
in iron mines, 3.43 in lead and zinc mines, 3.95 in gold and miscella- 
neous metal mines, 1.66 in miscellaneous mineral mines. 1 

The number of men killed in or about the copper mines of Michigan 
averaged 4.94 per 1,000 employed in or about the mines, a lower aver- 
age than in any State except California. The average number of men 
seriously injured in Michigan copper mines was 54.88 per 1,000 men, 
or larger than in any State except a number of eastern and southern 
States that are grouped together. The causes of death or injury as 
shown by the same bulletin (pp. 17-21) were as follows: 

Table showing number of men hilled or injured in and about copper mines in Michigan, 

1911. 



[U. S. Bureau of Mines: Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States during Calendar Year 1911. 
ington, 1913. Technical Paper 40.] 



Cause of injury or death. 



Under: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 



ground: 

By fall of rock or ore from roof or wall 

By timber or hand tools 

By explosives 

By haulage accidents 

By falling down chute, winze, raise, or stope 

By run of ore from chute or pocket 

By drilling accidents 

By electricity (shock or burns) 

By machinery (other than mine locomotives or machine 
drills) 

By mine fires 

By suffocation from natural gas 

By inrush of water 

By other causes 



Total underground. 



Shaft: 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 



By falling down shaft 

By objects falling down shaft. 

By breaking of cables 

By overwinding 

By other causes 



Total shaft accidents . 



Number 
killed. 



Number 
seriously 
injured. 



236 

32 

4 

193 
22 
27 
75 



47 



12 



27 



27 



643 



13 



Number 
slightly 
injured. 



979 

297 

22 

1,146 

254 

359 

331 

2 



317 



3,936 



15 



17 



Total. 



1,243 

332 

31 

1,341 

277 

390 

406 

3 



344 



4,626 



22 



i P. 13. This bulletin is Technical Paper 40, issued by the Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior. 
It apparently shows that during 1911 there were in proportion to the number of employees in and about 
the mines more fatal accidents in metal mines than in coal mines in the United States, in spite of the fact 
that "in the metal mines there is an entire absence of the gas or dust explosions" which occur in coal 
mines. The number of men killed in and about the coal mines during 1911, as stated in this bulletin 
(p. 5), averaged 3.73 per 1,000 men employed as against 4.19 in metal mines. But this may be explained 
by the fact that the metal mines are operated many more days during a year than are coal mines. This 
bulletin shows the average number of days that the different kinds of metal mines in the United States 
were operated during 1911— copper mines, 308 days (p. 21); iron mines, 277 (p. 26); lead and zinc mines, 
256 (p. 29); gold and miscellaneous metal mines, 276 (p. 36); all metal and miscellaneous mineral mines, 
282 (p. 50). The Production of Coal in 1912, by Edward W. Parker, a bulletin issued by the U. S. Geo- 
logical Survey, shows (p. 37) that the average number of days that coal mines were operated in 1911 was 
220. If the fatal accident rate of coal miners be calculated on the basis of their working 308 instead of 220 
days, the rate per 1,000 would be increased from 3.73 to 5.22 as against 5.33, the rate of copper-mine work- 
rs working 308 days. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



Ill 



Table showing number of men hilled or injured in or about copper mines in Michigan, 

1911— Concluded. 



Cause of injury or death. 


Number 
killed. 


Number 
seriously 
injured. 


Number 
slightly 
injured. 


Total. 


Surface: 

1. By mine cars and locomotives 






3 

2 
46 


3 


2. By railway cars and locomotives 


i 


2 

8 


5 




54 


4. By boiler explosions 






5. By electricity (shock or burns) 






14 
28 
193 


14 


6. By machinery 




4 
9 


32 


7. By other causes 


3 


205 






Total surface 


4 


23 


286 


313 








63 


679 


4,260 


5,002 





Of the 59 fatal accidents underground, including those that oc- 
curred in the shaft, 28 were caused by the fall of rock or ore from 
the roof or wall. Also the number of persons who were seriously 
injured and the number who were slightly injured from this cause 
were very large. Accidents of this kind are largely due to the neg- 
lect of miners to bar down all of the rock that is loosened by the 
blasts before beginning work again in the stopes. Inexperienced 
miners are often careless about this matter, and, without making a 
thorough examination of the rock, they begin drilling into it again, 
with the result sometimes that tons of rock come tumbling down 
upon them. The danger from falling rock is great in the Michigan 
copper district on account of the steepness of the stopes, which fol- 
low the pitch of the lodes, and which vary from 35 to 72 degrees. In 
the Copper Range Consolidated mines and other mines that have 
very steep stopes, the danger is not so great, because as the stopes 
are dug upward they are filled below with refuse rock, leaving only 
room enough for the miners to work. 

Of the 12 deaths from accidents that occurred in shafts, 9 were 
from falling down the shaft. The State mining law requires that 
there shall be railings around the shaft at each level, but on many 
levels in some mines only chains are hung across the level at the edge 
of the shaft and they afford inadequate protection. 

There is a large number of haulage accidents, but most of them 
cause but slight injuries, such as bruises, and result from loading, 
pushing, and dumping tram cars. 

In the following table the number of mine workers killed or in- 
jured is shown with the average per 1,000 employed: 

Number of men employed, days worked, and number of men killed and injured per 1,000 
employed in and about copper mines in Michigan, 1911 . 

I (Bureau of Mines: Metal-Mine Accidents in the United States during Calendar Year 1911. Washington, 
1913. Technical Paper 40.] 
Number of operators reporting 30 

Employees: 
Underground 11, 953 
Surface 4, 351 

* ^ 



112 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



Number of days worked 5, 012, 196 

Average days worked 307 

Number of employees: 
Killed— 

Underground * 59 

Per 1,000 employed 4. 94 

Surface 4 

Per 1,000 employed 0. 92 

Total killed 63 

Per 1,000 employed 3. 80 

Seriously injured- 
Underground : 65 6 

Per 1.000 employed 54.88 

Surface 23 

Per 1,000 employed 5. 26 

Total seriously injured 679 

Per 1,000 employed 41. 65 

Slightly injured — • 

Underground 1 3, 974 

Per 1,000 employed 332. 47 

Surface 286 

Per 1,000 employed 65. 96 

Total slightly injured 4, 260 

Per 1,000 employed 261. 28 

Widows 31 

Orphans 77 

The workmen's compensation law of Michigan went into effect on 
September 1, 1912. All of the mining companies have elected to 
accept its terms and to pay the prescribed compensation for death or 
injuries in order to avoid suits for damages. In case of death by ac- 
cident, the dependents of the deceased person are paid a weekly rate 
of compensation for 300 weeks, this weekly rate depending on the 
earnings of the person before death. The following table, which 
shows the compensation paid by the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 
to dependents of employees who were killed from September 1, 1912, 
to August 31, 1913, may be examined with interest: 

Compensation paid by the Calumet & Eecla Mining Co., under employers' liability act 
on account of fatal injuries during the year ending August 31, 1913. 



Name of employee. 


Occupation. 


Date of in- 
jury. 


Date of death. 


Weekly 
rate of 
compen- 
sation. 


Total 
compen- 
sation to 

be paid 

during 
300 

weeks. 


1. Borchgrevink, Ole 

2. Sikanen, Albin 


Painter 


Sept. 18, 1912 
do 


Sept. 18, 1912 
do 


$7.62 
7.36 

( 2 ) 
7.35 
7.73 
7.88 
7.54 
7.53 
8.14 
7.24 
7.86 

10.00 
7.19 

10.00 
7.95 


$2,286 


do 


2,208 


3. Destefani, John 




Oct. 23,1912 
Nov. 7,1912 
Jan. 10,1913 
Jan. 23,1913 
Jan. 29,1913 
Apr. 2, 1913 
Apr. 11,1913 
Apr. 29,1913 
June 16,1913 
June 20,1913 
June 22,1913 
July 3, 1913 
July 19,1913 


Oct. 23,1912 
Nov. 7,1912 
Jan. 10,1913 
Jan. 23,1913 
Jan. 31,1913 
Apr. 2, 1913 
Apr. 11,1913 
Apr. 29,1913 
June 16,1913 
June 20,1913 
June 22,1913 
July 4, 1913 
July 19,1913 


( 2 ) 


4. Bliztz, Frank 


Sprinkler 


2,205 


5. Krogh, Christian N 

6. Bradovic, John 


Watchman 


2,319 


Trammer 


2,364 


7. Vidosch, Matt 


Miner 


2,262 


8. Krizmanic, Stephen 

9. Rom, John 


Company accountant. . 
Roller man 


2,259 
2,442 


10. Orsolano, Anton 


Company accountant . 


2,172 


11. Bartle, Franklin 


2,358 


12. Endahl, Chas. V 


do 


3,000 


13. Coppo, Antony 


do 


2,157 


14. O'Connor, Martin 


Miner 


3,000 


15. Yuntunen. Henry 


do 


2,385 







Includes shaft accidents. 



2 No dependents. Paid $200 funeral expense. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



113 



HOUSES OCCUPIED BY MINE WORKERS. 

All of the Michigan copper-mining companies have built houses to 
accommodate the mine workers at all of their mines except some 
small "prospect" mines. At some mines there are not enough houses 
for all of the employees, and some are obliged to live in houses rented 
from other owners than the mining companies. At none of the mines 
are any of the employees compelled to live in company houses. 

The dwelling houses owned by the companies are usually substan- 
tially built frame houses, and they are usually kept in good repair. 
The lots on which the houses stand are usually 50 by 100 feet. At 
only one mine are the lots as narrow as 25 feet. At several mines 
the lots are 60 or 75 feet wide, and in some cases 100. Some lots are 
125 feet deep and some 150 feet. 

The following table shows the number of frame houses owned by the 
various companies and the monthly rental of these houses according 
to the number of rooms that they contain : 



Company. 


1 

Number and monthlv rental of houses of— 




3 rooms. 


4 rooms. | 5 rooms. 


~ - o 9 rooms 
6 rooms. ; 3 rooms. 8 rooms, j and over 

! I 


Total 
num- 
ber of 
houses. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. No. 


Rent . Xo. Rent. 


No. Rent. 




Ahmeek. . . 


2 $3.50 20 i$5.00 






1 

2S 

9 


$4.00 
6.00 
7.00 
7.50 






58 


Allouez 




7 4.00 














4 

8 


4.00 
5.00 


2 4.00 


2 §5.66 






66 


Calumet & Hecla.. 




18 
2 


5.00 
6.00 


2 6.00 ■ 26 








---------- 






1 L 




.. 














1764 


Centennial '■ 


7 


4.00 


15 


5.00 


11 
9 




5.00 1 


7.00 





44 


Copper Range 




6.00 
6.50 








:::;:::::: 






























2 607 


Fran Id in. . 


2 !$3.66 


12 


3.00 


13 - 


2 
19 


4.00 
5.00 






2 &5 no 




50 


Houghton 
































1 

2 

2 

26 


7.00 1 
4.00 1 
5.00 1 


12.00 
3.00 
5.00 




2 


Isle Royale 

Lake 


10 


3.00 


3 

8 


3.00 
4.00 


3 
5 

22 
13 


3.00 
4.00 
5.00 
6.00 


8 


6.00 




1 §10.00 


107 










6 00 2 10 00 























1 





















M3 


La Salle 


1 


2 
1 

1 


3.00 
4.00 






3 

1 
1 
1 


6. 00 1 

2.00 1 5 00 


5.00 
8.00 




6 


Mass 




1 


2.00 
5.00 
6.00 


2 1 5.00 


35 






5.00 17 


5.00 
6.00 




11 8.00 








7 








Mohawk 















<179 
7 267 


North Kearsarge. . . 


















Oneco 








7 

19Q 


4.00 

(6) 







1 


5.00 




Osceola 


3 3.00 


29 
50 


4.00 


65 


5.00 41 6.00 
( 8 ) 126 ] (8) 





Quincv 


(8) 60 


(») 185 


10 


( 8 ) 


12 


( 8 ) 


443 


South Kearsarge. . . 






w ,« 


Superior 










2 

10Q 


6.00 2 
5.00 169 
4.00 1 45 
4.00 3 
4.50 1 
5.00 3 
6.00 25 


5.00 12 6.00 
6.00 17 7.00 
5.95 9 7.45 










Tamarack 






32 
9 
2 
1 


4.00 










327 


Winona 


38 
1 


3.30 
3.50 


3.90 11 
3.50 4 
4.00 1 
4.50 14 


3 


15.00 






115 

87 


Wolverine 


4.00 | 2 
4.50 1 
5.00 3 


5.00 










4 4.00 


6.00 
7.00 


"'" 









1 4.50 1 











1 5.00 


6 | 5.00 5 


6.00 
6.50 


















1 
5 

1 


















1 6.00 






7.00 
7.50 






1 





















































60 3.32 

1 


136 


3.98 291 


4.92 380 

i 


5.70 


175 


6.37 


13 


8.69 


4 i 7.00 

1 


3,045 



1 None less than 4 rooms. Average rent, $6.74 per month. 

2 Houses of different sizes ranging from 2 to 12 rooms, rented from $1.50 to $15 per month. 

3 From 3 to 8 rooms, number of each not reported, renting from $2 to $8 per month. 

< Fifty-three single with 5 and 6 rooms and barn at $5.50 and 63 double with 10 rooms and barn at $5.50 
each side. 
^'Included with Osceola. 
sjRent for $4 and $5. 

7 Including North Kearsarge and South Kearsarge. 

8 Rent according to number of rooms not reported. 

27603— S. Doc. 381, 62-3 8 



114 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



As shown by the table, the average monthly rental of the frame 
houses was — for the three-room houses, $3.32; for the four-room 
houses, S3. 98; for the five-room houses, $4.92; for the six-room houses, 
$5.70; for the seven-room houses, $6.37; for the eight-room houses, 
$8.69; and for houses with nine rooms and over, $7. The average 
monthly rental per room was — for the three-room houses, $1.10; for 
the four-room houses, $1; for the five-room houses, $0.98; for the 
six-room houses, $0.95; for the seven-room houses, $0.91; for the 
eight-room houses, $1.09; and for the houses of nine rooms and 
over, $0.80. 

The following table shows the number of frame houses, owned by 
the companies, that are supplied with water and sewerage connections : 





Frame dwelling houses owned by 


companies. 


Company. 


Number 
of frame 
houses. 


Number 
with fau- 
cets in 
house. 


Number 
with sewer- 
age con- 
nections. 


Charges for 
water. 


Ahmeek 


58 

66 

764 

44 

607 

50 

5 

2 

107 

43 

6 

None. 

35 

179 

8 

1267 

443 

16 

327 

115 

87 


None. 

None. 

764 

3 

607 

30 

5 

2 

41 

39 

None. 


None. 

None. 

325 

3 

None. 
8 
5 
1 

38 

9 

None. 


No charge. 
Do. 


Allouez 


Calumet & Hecla 


Do. 


Centennial 


Do. 


Copper Range 


Do. 


Franklin. . . 7 • 


Do. 


Hancock 


Do. 


Houghton 


50 cents per 


Isle Royale 


month. 

No charge. 

Do. 


Lake 


La Salle 


Do. 


Laurium 




Mass 


None. 

None. 

None. 

65 

( 2 ) 

None. 
220 

103 
None. 


None. 

None. 

None. 

15 

( 2 ) 

16 
67 

8 
None. 


No charge. 


Mohawk 


Do. 


Oneco 


Do. 


Osceola 


50 cents per 


Quincy 

Superior 

Tamarack 


month. 
No charge. 

Do. 
50 cents per 


Winona 


month. 
Do. 


Wolverine 


No charge. 





Including North Kearsarge and South Kearsarge. 



* Not reported. 



Probably in no mining .district in the United States is the rent 
lower than it is in the Michigan copper district for houses rented to 
employees. The companies do not expect to make any profit on 
then houses, and the income from house rents is so small that some 
general managers complain that it is hard for them to get the stock- 
holders of their companies to agree to erect enough houses to provide 
for all of the employees. The very low rent is an advantage to the 
employees that are married, and one reason of the companies for 
making the rents low is to hold the married men. They consider 
married men to be more reliable than single men, more apt to work 
regularly, and not so apt to leave the employment of the company 
to work for another mining company, or to seek employment outside 
the district. However, single men claim that married men are to 
some extent compensated for low wages by the low rent, but that 
low rents are of no benefit to the single men and really is one cause 
of keeping wages low. 

As will be seen by this table, all the frame houses owned by the 
Calumet & Hecla, Copper Range, Hancock, and Houghton companies 
are provided with running water, with faucets in the houses; and 
some of the houses at the Centennial, Franklin, Isle Royale, Lake, 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



115 



Osceola,, Tamarack, and Winona mines are provided with faucets. 
No charge for water is made by the Calumet & Hecla, Centennial, 
Copper Range, Franklin, Hancock, Isle Royale, and Lake companies. 
At the Houghton, Osceola, Tamarack, and Winona mines a charge of 
50 cents per month is made for water supplied to each house. The 
occupants of the houses that are not supplied with running water 
obtain water from welts, and the number of wells varies from one to 
each house to one well for five houses. 

Electric light is furnished at a cost of from 5 to 12 cents per kilowatt 
hour for some of the houses at the Calumet & Hecla, Osceola, Ahmeek, 
Tamarack, Copper Range, Winona, and Houghton mines, and at $2 
a month for houses at the Mass mine. 

Garbage is removed weekly from the houses of the Calumet & 
Hecla Co., and biweekly from the houses of the Copper Range Co. 
Some companies report that garbage is removed when necessary, 
and others that it is removed annually. No charge for removing 
garbage is made by any company. The privies of houses which have 
no sewerage connection are cleaned by the companies without charge. 
Some companies report that privies are cleaned whenever necessary, 
others that the cleaning is done annually or every two years. No 
charge for this is made. 

The companies that have built houses during recent years were 
requested to furnish statements showing the number of nouses, the 
number of rooms in the houses, the cost of construction, and the 
monthly rentals. The statements received are summarized in the 
following table: 





4-room houses. 


5-room houses. 




No. 


Cost per 
house. 


Rent 

per 

house. 


No. 


Cost per 
house. 


Rent 

per 

house. 


Osceola Consolidated Mining Co 


7 
4 
3 


$818. 74 
715. 25 
883.85 


$4.00 
4.00 
4.00 








Ahmeek 


10 

10 

2 

126 

7 


$843.60 

862.95 

1,000.00 

1,150.00 

550.00 


$5.00 


Do 


5.00 




»6.00 


Mohawk 








*5.50 


Oneco 








3 4.00 










Average cost and average rent 


14 


803. 12 


4.00 
6.00 


155 


1,082.68 


5.37 


Per cent annual rent is of cost 


6.00 

















6-room houses. 


7-room houses. 






No. 


Cost per 
house. 


Rent 
per 

house. 


No. 


Cost per j »£* 
house - |ho P use. 

i 


Year 
built. 








13 


$1,046.14 | $6.00 
1,435.00 6.00 


1906 


Isle Royale Co 






25 
13 
15 


1907 


Ahmeek ! 






1,111.25 
1,160.00 


6.00 
6.00 


1904-1907 


Do 






1904-1907 




130 


$931.57 


4 $6. 00 


1897-1900 




25 
12 


1,409.83 
1,450.00 


7.50 
6.00 


1907 








1910 


La Salle 2 


1,500.00 

1,100.00 

1,050.00 

620.00 


6.00 
6.00 
5.50 
5.00 


1907 




30 
53 
10 








1907-8 


Mohawk 

Franklin 








1899-1907 








1899 


Oneco 










1899 


















Average cost and average rent 

Per cent annual rent is of cost 


225 


973. 13 


5.84 
7.20 


103 


1,300.65 


6.36 
5.90 

















1 Have basement. 
« With barn. 



3 One 8-room house, cost $1,000, rents $5. 

4 Water 50 cents per month per family extra. 



116 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



In the cost reported the value of the land is not included. It 
appears by the table that the average cost of the houses was for the 
four-room houses, $803.12, or $200.78 per room; for the five-room 
houses, $1,082.68, or $216.54 per room; for the six-room houses, 
$973.13, or $162.19 per room; for the seven-room houses, $1,300.65, 
or $185.81 per room. 

The average monthly rental of these recently constructed houses 
was for the four-room houses $4, or $1 per room; for the five-room 
houses $5.37, or $1.07 per room; for the six-room houses $5.85, or 
$0.97 per room; and for the seven-room houses $6.36, or $0.91 per room. 

If the houses are rented during the whole year the average annual 
rentals amount to 6 per cent of the reported construction cost of the 
four-room houses, 6 per cent of the five-room houses, 7.2 per cent of 
the six-room houses, and 5.9 per cent of the seven-room houses. This 
small income from nouses is but little, if any, more than the amount 
necessary to pay for taxes, insurance, and repairs, and to provide 
for depreciation. 

In addition to the frame houses that are owned by the mining 
companies and rented by them to their employees, there are at a 
number of mines log cabins containing from 2 to 10 rooms each. 
Most of these cabins were built in the early days of mining in the 
district, but a few have been built within recent years. They were 
built of hewn logs and have shingle roofs and plank floors. The 
spaces between the logs are well chinked up and these cabins are 
about as warm in whiter as are the frame houses. However, they 
have comparatively few windows and the windows are small. The 
number of these cabins owned by each company and the monthly 
rentals according to the size of the cabin are shown in the following 

table: Log cabins. 





Number and monthly rental of houses of— 


Total 

number 

of 


Mint". 


2 rooms. 


3 rooms. 


4 rooms. 


5 rooms. 


6 rooms. 


7 rooms 
and over. 




No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 


No. 


Rent. 




Ahmeek ... 






2 


$2.00 


5 


$3. 00 


4 
1 
1 
4 
10 
40 
1 


$3.00 
3.50 
4.00 
2.00 
2.50 
0) 
5.00 










■ 

13 




































:::::: 


Allouez 














3 


$4.00 






17 






















Calumet & Hecla 




















40 


Centennial .... 










4 


2.50 








5 


Copper Range 










:::::::::: 






None. 


Franklin 


















i 






2 13 


Hancock 


















.......... 






None. 


Houghton 


















i 






None. 


Isle Royale 










11 


3.00 












11 




2 


si. 66 
















1 2 


La Salle 






1 


( 3 ) 


3 


3.00 


... . 






4 


Laurium 




1 




:;:; ;;:: 




None. 








1 


( 3 ) 


2 


2.00 










3 












.............. 




None. 
























{*) 


Oneco ... 






















None. 


Osceola 










1 


3.00 


61 


( 5 ) 


12 : 4.00 6 5 


( 6 ) 


»79 


Quincey . . 














825 


South Kearsarge, 


























( 4 ) 




























None. 


Tamarack 






3 
5 
1 


3.00 
2.00 
3.00 


10 


4.00 


64 


5.00 


1 


6.00 






78 














5 




















1 
















' 








2 


1.00 


11 


2.36 


33 


3.18 


88 


4.39 


16 4.13 | 5 


$7.20 


296 



» Rent from $0.50 to $3 per month. 

2 Number of rooms not reported; rent, 

* Rent free. 

* Included in Osceola. 

6 Rent from S3 to $4 per monl . 



6 Three 8-room cabins at $8 per month and two 
10-room cabins at $6 per month. 

7 Including North Kearsarge and South Kearsarge. 

8 Four-room and five-room cabins, rent from $1 to 
$2 per month. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



117 



As will be seen, the rent of these cabins is less even than the rent 
of the frame houses, and for that reason they are in demand by mine 
workers who wish to economize as closely as possible. 

Some of the mine workers that are employed in the mines near 
Hancock and Houghton own the houses in which they live and the 
land on which the houses stand. At other mines the companies own 
all of the ground, and they will not sell any ground to employees or 
anyone else, even with the mining rights reserved. At some of these 
mines some of the employees have built their own houses on ground 
rented from the companies. Each company was requested to state 
the number of its employees that occupied houses built on ground 
leased to them, the annual ground rent, and the number that occu- 
pied houses built on land that they owned. The statements of the 
companies are shown in the following table, but the information is 
not very definite, and there is no information about the number of 
freeholders : 





Houses owned by employees. 


Mines. 


Houses on 
ground- 
rent lease. 


Annual 

ground 

rent. 


Number of 

employees 

who are 

freeholders 


Ahmeek 


None. 
15 

*1,000 

144 

27 

30 

2 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

0) 

None. 
120 

None. 
81 
202 

None. 
30 
36 
64 




C 1 ) 


Allouez 


$5.00 
5.00 
$5. 00- 6. 00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 


« 


Oalnmfit & TTnela ... . . 


© 


Copper Range 




Centennial 


0) 


Franklin 


Hancock 




Houghton 




Isle Royale 




h 
(») 

0) 
(0 


Lake 




La Salle 




Laurium 


0) 


Mass 


Mohawk 


6.00 


Oneco 




Osceola 


5.00 
5.00 


0) 

230 


Quincy 


Superior 


0) 


Tamarack 


5.00 

1.00 

6. 00-10. 00 


Winona 


Wolverine 








S l Not reported. * 


Estimated. 







STIPULATIONS IN LEASES. 

The leases of the mining companies for houses rented to their 
tenants provide that the house shall not be used for any purpose other 
than a dwelling, boarding or lodging house for employees of the com- 
pany, that the tenant has no right to possession beyond 15 days after 
he has quit the employment of the company or been discharged, 
and that then the company has the right, without notice, to recover 
possession, and also that for any cause or reason whatsoever the 
company may, after 15 days' notice, put the tenant out of the house. 
Following is the principal portion of the house lease of the Calumet 
& Hecla Mining Co. and its subsidiary companies: 

Witnesseth, That said party of the first part hath agreed to let and hereby doth 
let, and the said party of the second part hath agreed to hire, and hereby doth hire, 
the following described premises belonging to the party of the first part, and in said 
county situated, to wit: 



118 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

To be used and occupied solely for a dwelling house — boarding house for boarding 
and lodging the employees of the party of the first part by the party of the second 
part — for which the said party of the second part agrees to pay to said party of the 
first part dollars per month, for each and every month of such occu- 
pation, and a proportional part thereof for any part of a month, payable on the pay 

day of each month, the first payment to be made on the pay day of , A. D. 19. . . 

Provided, however, and this lease is upon the following express conditions, to wit: 
That if the party of the second part shall refuse or neglect to pay the rent above men- 
tioned at the time above mentioned, or shall let, demise, sell, underlet, or assign 
this lease, or the whole or any part of said premises without the consent of the party 
of the first part thereto obtained, or shall sell or suffer to be sold in or upon said prem- 
ises any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, 

or shall refuse or neglect to keep said premises in good preservation (ordinary wear 
and tear and damages by the elements excepted) ; or shall continue to occupy or hold, 
or suffer to be occupied or held, said premises beyond 15 days after said party of the 
second part ceases to be an employee of the party of the first part, whether because 
of being discharged by the party of the first part or on voluntarily terminating his 
relation as employee to the party of the first part; in such and in any such case it 
is hereby expressly understood and agreed that this lease shall, at the option of the 
party of the first part, wholly cease and determine, and it shall thereupon be lawful 
for the party of the first part to reenter into and repossess and recover said premises, 
and the party of the second part, and any other occupant, to remove and put ont, 
and in such or in any such case it is expressly agreed that no notice to quit whatever 
shall be required to be given by the party of the first part to the party of the sec- 
ond jjart. 

It is further agreed that should the said first party wish to terminate the tenancy 
hereby created, for any cause or reason whatsoever, other than those mentioned in the 
preceding conditions (although said second party should have fulfilled, performed, 
and kept each and every condition and covenant hereof), it may do so at any time 
by giving said second party 15 days' notice of such wish (and such notice shall not 
be required to terminate at the expiration of any rental period), and at the expira- 
tion of such 15 days this lease shall wholly cease and determine, and the party of the 
first part shall thereupon, and without further or other or different Dotice, be entitled 
to immediate possession of said premises, and to recover the same, and the party of the 
second part, or any other occupant, to remove and put out. The said party of the 
second part covenants and agrees to keep, perform, and observe each and all of the 
conditions herein mentioned. 

It is further agreed that said first party may retain, out of any moneys due, or to 
become due, from it to said second party, any rent due or to become due hereunder, 
and also an amount sufficient to fairly compensate said first party for any injury done, 
or suffered to be done, to said premises by said second party, contrary to the terms 
hereof. 

The mining companies grant five-year ground-rent leases to em- 
ployees who wish to build houses to use as dwellings. The ground- 
rent lease of the Calumet & Heel a Mining Co. and subsidiary com- 
panies provides that if the lessee should fail to pay any taxes or 
assessment, or if he should cease to be an employee of the company 
by discharge or otherwise, or if, without the written consent of the 
company, he should sell, assign, or transfer the lease, or sell, assign, 
lease, or sublet the house he has built on the land, or if he should do 
several other specified things, the lease shall after 90 days become 
void, the company shall have the right, without notice, to take full 
possession of the land and the house thereon built by the lessee; and 
if the house should not be removed by the lessee within 90 days 
after reentry it shall fully vest in and become the property of the 
company, its successors and assigns, without conveyance thereof and 
without liability to nay for the same or any part thereof. 

Following is the principal portion of the ground lease of the Calumet 
& Hecla Mining Co. and subsidiary companies: 

Witnesseth as follows: The said party of the first part in consideration of the rents 
and covenants hereinafter specified, doth hereby let and lease to the party of the 

second part the following described piece of land, situate in the township of 

in said county, to wit: 



MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTRICT SIEIKE. 119 

(expressly saving, reserving, and excepting, however, to itself, its successors and 
assigns, all metals and minerals upon said land and the right to enter upon said land 
to remove the same and the right to dig and mine for the same to within 15 feet 
of the surface of the rock and to construct and maintain all excavations, pipes, conduits, 
and other structures upon the demised premises which it may deem necessary for its 
mining operations upon this or other land, being liable to the party of the second 
part only for damages actually done thereby) for the term of five years from and after 

, at the rent of dollars per annum, payable annually in advance, 

to be used and occupied for the sole purpose of erecting and maintaining thereon a 
single dwelling house and outbuildings only, and for a single family. 

Provided, That in case any rent shall be due and unpaid, or the party of the second 
part shall erect or maintain, or suffer to be erected or maintained, thereon, any other 
structure or structures than as aforesaid, or shall neglect to pay any tax or assessment, 
ordinary or extraordinary, levied upon said land, or upon the structure or structures 
to be erected thereon during the life of this lease, for the space of 60 days after the 
same shall become due and payable, or shall sell or suffer to be sold, upon said land 
any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, or shall carry on, or suffer to be carried on upon 
said land, or in said structure or structures, any business or occupation contrary to 
law or to good morals, or shall sell, assign or transfer this lease, or sell, assign, lease or 
sublet the structures upon said land, or any part thereof, without the written consent 
of the party of the first part, first obtained, or shall continue to occupy or hold, or suffer 
to be occupied or held, said premises beyond 90 days after said party of the second 
part ceases to be an employee of the party of the first part, whether because of being 
discharged by the party of the first part, or on voluntarily terminating his relation as 
employee to the party of the first part, then and from thenceforth, in such and in any 
such case, it is hereby expressly understood and agreed that this lease shall at the 
option of the party of the first part, wholly cease and determine, and it shall thereupon 
be lawful for the said party of the first part, without notice to the party of the second 
part, to reenter into and repossess the said lands, and to take full possession of said land, 
and of such structure or structures, and in such and in any such case, the party of the 
second part shall have the right to remove from said land any structure or structures 
he may have erected or maintained thereon for the space of 90 days next after 
such reentry, and no longer, and all such structures remaining upon said land after the 
lapse of said 90 days, shall fully vest in, and become the property of the party of 
the first part, its successors and assigns, without conveyance thereof, and without any 
liability on the party of the first part, its successors or assigns, to pay for the same or 
any part thereof. 

And the said party of the second part doth hereby hire said piece of land for the 
term of five years, as above mentioned, and doth covenant and agree to and with the 

said party of the first part, its successors and assigns, that he will pay therefor 

dollars per annum, annually in advance, that he will erect and maintain thereon no 
other structure or structures than as aforesaid; that he will pay, (0 days after the 
same shall become due and payable, any and all taxes and assessments, ordinary and 
extraordinary, that may be levied upon said land, or upon the structures thereon, that 
he will neither sell, nor suffer to be sold upon said land any spirituous or intoxicating 
liquors; that he will not carry on, nor suffer to be carried on, upon said land or in said 
structures, any business or occupation contrary to law or to good morals; that he will 
not sell, assign, or transfer this lease, or sell, assign, lease or sublet the structures upon 
said land, or any part thereof, without first obtaining the consent of the party of the 
first part thereto in writing, and in case of breach or nonobservance of any or either of 
the covenants or conditions above mentioned he will quit and yield up the possession 
of said land and of such structure or structures, and that such structure or structures 
shall vest in and become the property of the party of the first part, its successors or 
assigns, unless the party of the second part shall remove the same from said land 
within said 90 days. 

And the said party of the first part doth agree that the said party of the second part, 
on paying the aforesaid rent, performing and keeping all the covenants, and observing 
all the conditions aforesaid, shall and may peaceably and quietly have, hold and enjoy 
the said premises for the term aforesaid. 

It is unnecessary to comment on the drastic nature of the terms of 
these five-year ground-rent leases, but it seems strange that any 
person would build a house on land leased on such conditions, and 
it is most astonishing that 1,000 houses have been built on land so 
leased from the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., as estimated by the 
company, and 153 at subsidiary companies — 81 at Osceola, 30 at 
Tamarack, 27 at Centennial, and 15 at AUouez. 



120 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Under the provision that the lease shall terminate when the lessee 
shall cease to be an employee of the company, by discharge or other- 
wise, or shall terminate on account of violation of any other stipula- 
tion, the only relief that the lessee has is to move his house from the 
land within 90 days ; but this permission to move his house is ineffec- 
tual, because the various companies own vast tracts of land and there 
is no other land near most of the mine locations. Copies of the 
ground-rent leases of all the mining companies were not secured, 
but those that were obtained are of much the same tenor as that of 
the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. Some of them expressly provide 
that the company may terminate the lease at any time it desires, 
and some of them provide that compensation at an appraised valua- 
tion shall be paid to the lessee at the termination or cancellation of 
the lease. 

The ground-rent lease of the Trimountain Mining Co. contains the 
same provisions as the lease of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. in 
regard to the lessee be Lag allowed, on the termination of the lease, 
to move his house from the land without liability on the part of the 
company to pay for any improvements, but this lease also contains 
the following provisions : 

And the said party of the second part doth hereby hire said piece of land for the 

term of years, as above mentioned, and doth covenant and agree to and 

with the said party of the first part, its successors and assigns, that he will pay therefor 

dollars per annum, annually in advance; that he will erect 

and maintain thereon no other structure or structures than as aforesaid; that he will 
pay, within 60 days after the same shall become due and payable, any and all taxes 
and assessments, ordinary and extraordinary, that may be assessed or levied upon 
said land, or upon the structures thereon; that he will neither sell, nor suffer to be 
sold upon said land, any spirituous, malt, or intoxicating liquors; that he will not 
carry on, or suffer to be carried on, upon said land or in said structures, any business 
or occupation contrary to law or to good morals; that he will not sell, assign, or transfer 
this lease, nor sell, assign, lease, or sublet said land, or any part thereof, or the struc- 
tures upon said land, or any part thereof, without first obtaining the consent of the 
party of the first part thereto in writing, and, in case of breach or nonobservance of 
any or either of the covenants or conditions above mentioned, and upon notice from 
said first party, its successors or assigns, that it desires said premises for mining or 
other purposes, as hereinafter provided, he will quit and yield up the possession of 
said land and of such structure or structures, and that any and all structure or struc- 
tures erected by said lessee, his legal representatives or assigns, on said land shall 
vest in and become the property of the party of the first part, its successors or assigns, 
unless the party of the second part shall remove the same from said land within said 
90 days. 

It is expressly agreed by and between the parties hereto that should said first party, 
its successors or assigns, desire said premises for any purpose or purposes connected 
with its mining operations and property, it shall have the right to and may cancel this 
lease by a 30 days' written notice to said lessee, his legal representatives or assigns (if 
there shall be any under the terms hereof), which said notice may be served by mail 
by delivery to said lessee, his legal representatives or assigns, personally, or by leaving 
the same with any person occupying said premises, and in such event this lease and 
all the obligations, agreements, and covenants of said first party herein contained shall 
cease and determine immediately after the expiration of 30 days from such service of 
said notice. 

It is hereby mutually agreed and understood that on the expiration of the term of 

this lease, to wit, said years, if the party of the first part shall, on demand, 

refuse to renew the same for another term, or when the said party of the second part, 
having quit or been discharged from the employment of said Trimountain Mining Co., 
shall, within 90 days next thereafter, have quit said land and the structures thereon and 
turrendered the same to said company, and in no other case or contingency whatever 
the structures erected upon said land by said lessee, his legal representatives or assigns, 
shall be valued and appraised at their then cash value in manner following. 

The party of the first part, by its agent or superintendent, shall choose or nominate 
one person, and the party of the second part one person, to make such appraisal, and k in 



MICHIGAN COPPEE DISTEICT STRIKE. 121 

case of their failure to agree these two shall appoint a third person, in which case a 
majority of the three shall make such appraisal; and the amount thus ascertained 
shall thereupon become and be due and payable by the party of the first part to the 
party of the second part, and on the payment or tender of the amount so ascertained, 
the full title to such structure or structures shall vest in the party of the first part, its 
successors or assigns, without other or further conveyance; but on the expiration of the 
term hereof, in the absence of such demand and refusal, all such structures upon the 
land shall vest in and become the property of the party of the first part, as above pro- 
vided, unless the party of the second part shall remove the same within 90 days next 
after such expiration. This provision as to appraisal and payment of valuation 
applying only to cases where within the 90 days aforesaid said lessee shall notify said 
party that he voluntarily surrenders such structures to said first party and request an 
appraisal as in this paragraph provided, and within the same time appoints and names 
to said first party the person to act as his appraiser. 

The following is quoted from the ground-rent lease of the Champion 
Copper Co. and the Winona Copper Co., which are identical in form: 

It is further expressly agreed that said first party may at any time at its option, upon 
90 days' written notice, terminate this lease and purchase said dwelling house or other 
buildings and appurtenances which may have been erected upon said premises by 

said second part , heirs or assigns. Notice of the election of said 

first party to so purchase shall be deposited in the United States mail in the post office 
at Painesdale, Mich., inclosed in a sealed envelope, with legal postage thereon fully 

prepaid, addressed to said part. . . of the second part, heirs or assigns, at his, 

her, their, or any of their last-known place or places of residence; and on the expira- 
tion of 90 days after said notice is so deposited as aforesaid in said post office said 
lease shall thereby be terminated. 

Whenever under any of the terms of this lease said first party shall elect to purchase 
said dwelling house or other buildings and appurtenances which may have been 

erected upon said premises by said second part , heirs or assigns, 

it may do so at the value thereof, to be determined by the general manager of said 

first party and said second part , or heirs, executors, administrators, or 

assigns within 10 days from the date of the notice of the election of said first party 
to purchase; and in case they can not agree upon said value within said 10 days, then 
they shall, within five days after the lapse of said 10 days, select some competent 
person to determine the same, who shall determine the same within 10 days after 
his selection; and in any event in computing said value there shall be deducted by 
the persons or person determining the same any and all rent then due or to grow due 

from said second part , heirs or assigns to said first party, and also any 

bonus paid to said second part by said first party, which sum, after making said 

deductions, shall be paid by said first party to said second part , heirs 

or assigns, if and when said second part. . . , heirs or assigns shall vacate 

and surrender said premises to said first party. 

And it is expressly understood and agreed by the parties hereto, their respective 
heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns, that the whole amount of 

rent reserved and agreed to be paid by said second part for said above demised 

premises, and each and every installment thereof, and any bonus that may have been 

paid by said first party to said second part , shall be* and are hereby declared to 

be a valid and first lien upon any and all buildings and improvements that may have 
been or that may at any time in the future be erected, placed, or put upon said prem- 
ises by said part of second part, heirs or assigns, and that whenever 

and as often as any installment of rent shall become due and remain unpaid for 

days after the same becomes due and payable said party of the first part, its agent, 
attorney, successors, or assigns, may sell at public auction, to the highest bidder for 
cash, after having first given notice of the time and place of such sale by posting up 
notice thereof in three public places in the township of Adams at least 10 days 
previous to the time of such sale, all the buildings and improvements on said prem- 
ises, and as attorney of said part of the second part, hereby irrevocably consti- 
tuted, may make to the purchaser or purchasers thereof a suitable and proper transfer, 
bill of sale, or other conveyance and out of the proceeds arising from such sale, after 
first paying the costs and expenses of such sale, including attorney fees, retain to 
itself, its successors or assigns, the whole amount due on said lease up to the date of 

said sale for such rent and bonus, rendering the surplus, if any, to the said part 

of the second part, heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, which 

sale shall be a perpetual bar to and against all rights and equities of said part of 

the second part, heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns in and to the 

property sold. 



122 MICHIGAN COPPEIi DISTRICT STRIKE. 

At the beginning of the strike the mine managers declared that they 
did not intend to evict the strikers from the houses belonging to the 
mining companies, but on September 4 the management of the Copper 
Range Consolidated Co. (which includes the Trimountain, Cham- 
pion, and Baltic companies) began to serve eviction notices on the 
tenants in its houses. In some instances the tenants were notified 
that they must return to work by September 8 or move out of the 
houses. Some men, who had been leaders in the strike, were not 
given this alternative, as the company did not wish to employ them 
again. The eviction was temporarily suspended by a restraining 
order, issued on September 6 by Judge P. H. O'Brien, of the circuit 
court, on the petition of the Western Federation of Miners. Two 
weeks later the Quincv Mining Co. began serving eviction notices. 

A number of men in the mining district have during the winter 
worked for the companies and have during the summer engaged in 
farming on land leased from the companies. These farm leases are 
similar in terms to the ground-rent leases. During the strike some 
of the farmers leasing lands from the companies contributed potatoes 
and other products to support the strikers. This assistance seems to 
have been objected to by the companies. • The Houghton and Calumet 
Daily Mining Gazette, a paper that upheld the views of the companies 
throughout the strike, stated "on good authority " that the companies 
were determined to drive "this undesirable class from the district" 
and intimated that the leases of the tenants who were former em- 
ployees would be canceled and that they would not be paid anything 
lor the houses they had erected or for other improvements they had 
made. The following was published in the Gazette of October 21 : 

The statement was made yesterday on good authority that some of the mining com- 
panies tnat have farms out on lease will cancel the leases of Finnish Socialist farmers. 
The strike with its attendant crippling of industry, its suffering among the poorer 
classes, its numerous fatalities, and its riots and general disorders, is laid at the door 
of the Finnish Socialists. The mining companies are determined to remove this un- 
desirable class from the district. The cancellation of farm leases is one of the means. 

This may appear to the uninitiated to be a drastic measure, but the situation is one 
reflecting no credit on Finnish Socialists. It is estimated there are 500 of these people 
occupying farms leased from mining companies. They pay $10 to $20 per 40 acres per 
year — not a very steep rental. The low rental and the probability that they never 
would be disturbed in their tenure of the lands, because farm lands are of little use to 
mining company, has made it possible for this class of farmers to prosper. It is now 
known that they have been assisting in strike agitation; that they have contributed 
largely to the strike benefits in the way of farm products. Such a class of antagonists 
naturally is something that the mining companies can not help to foster in justice to 
themselves. 

The following appeared in the Gazette dated October 24: 

Most of the Finn farmers in this vicinity are working land leased from mining cor- 
porations. The leases are at nominal figures, usually out of consideration to faithful 
employees. These Finnish farmers who have been conspicuous in the strike parades 
and in the strike meetings doing the loudest talking, talking against the corporations, 
must walk up to the office of these same companies and ask for a renewal of their leases 
January 1. They are by no means sure they will get it. Some others of the strikers 
who own houses located on company land are finding out that they have a difficulty 
to which they gave little consideration. These men, realizing that in the past the com- 
pany always stood ready to take their houses off their hands at a fair appraised valua- 
tion, presumed that unwritten law would always continue. Now they want to move 
to other camps, being unable to get their jobs back. They want the company to buy 
their houses. The companv is not in the house-buying business right at this moment. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



123 



LIVING CONDITIONS. 

In the section of the report relating to houses occupied by em- 
ployees, statistics are given which show that mining companies rent 
nouses to employees at a low rental, and mention is made of the fact 
that some of the companies supply electric lights for these houses at 
a cost of from 5 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. In statements made 
by the companies some of them say that they furnish soft coal to em- 
ployees at from $4.50 to So. 25 per ton, and hard coal at from $7.75 to 
$8.50 per ton. Following is the price list of coal dealers in Calumet 
and Laurium: 

Price list of coal in Calumet and Laurium on June 1, 1913. 



HARD COAL. 

Egg 

Stove 

Chestnut 

Stove and nut 

(Advance of 25 cents per ton on above sizes Aug. 1.) 

Pea 

Screenings 

SOFT COAL. 

Cannel 

Nut cannel 

Pocahontas (retail) 

Pocahontas (steam trade) 

Splint 

Pittsburgh 

Run of pile (Pittsburgh) 

Soft screenings 

Smithing 



Per ton. 


One-half 
ton. 


One-fourth 
ton. 


$8.00 


■■M.25 


$2.40 


8.00 


4.25 


2.40 


S.25 


4.40 


2.45' 


S. 1.5 


4.35 


2.45 


6.00 


3.25 


2.00 


2.00 


1.25 


.90 


7.25 


3.85 


2.15 


6.25 


3. 35 


1.90 


6.00 


3.25 


1.90 


5.50 


3.00 


1.75 


o. /o 


3.15 


1.85 


5.50 


3.00 


1.75 


4.50 


2.50 


1.50 


3.00 


1.75 


1.15 


6.75 


4.15 


2.35 



25 cents per ton extra if carried. 

All coal must be charged at price in effect at time of delivery regardless of time order is taken. 

None of the mining companies conducts a boarding house for its 
employees, but at most of the mines there are boarding houses con- 
ducted by private parties who rent houses from the companies. In 
these boarding houses the price of board and lodging varies from $20 to 
$22 per month. Some Italians, Hungarians, and other foreigners live 
more cheaply than this, by clubbing together, renting a house, buying 
the provisions, and hiring somebody to cook the food or cooking it 
themselves 

In this investigation the prices of commodities in stores were not 
secured, but the prices are not considered dear by the people in the 
district. Store prices have largely been governed by the prices fixed 
by the Tamarack Cooperative Association, which has a large depart- 
ment store located at Calumet, and which sells and delivers goods in 
adjoining villages for a distance of 15 miles or more. It does a larger 
business than any other cooperative store in the United States. 
It was organized in 1890, has 1,800 stockholders, and at the end of 
each fiscal year pays its stockholders a dividend of 8 per cent on their 
shares of $10 par value each, and pays its customers 12 to 13 per cent 
on the amounts of their purchases. The following details from the 



124 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

twenty-second annual statement of the company for the year ending 
January 15, 1913, show the extent of the business: 

Capital stock paid in $68, 180. 00 

Insurance fund (reserve) on deposit in bank 18, 727. 87 

Total sales from Jan. 15, 1912, to Jan. 15, 1913. 845, 930. 90 

Dividend No. 22, payable Feb. 15, 1913 103,947.02 

Total dividend since organization 1, 144, 006. 53 

Total sales since organization 9, 763, 330. 00 

Insurance in force 105, 000. 00 

The Copper Range Consolidated Co. is the only mining company 
in the district that has company stores. It conducts four stores. 
The amount of sales of each of them and the amount collected through 
the company pay office during 1912 are shown by the following fig- 
ures: 

Trimountain store — sales, $161,215.32; collected through com- 
pany, $29,309.81. Atlantic store — sales, $118,555.51; collected 
through company, $7,735.23. Beacon Hill store — sales, $63,299.13; 
collected through company, $14,734.19. Redridge store — sales, 
$49,904.22; collected through company, $15,917.12. No complaints 
were heard regarding overcharges in these stores. 

WELFARE WORK. 

The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., which has a larger number of 
employees than any other company in the Michigan copper district, 
has provided a number of welfare agencies for their benefit. The em- 
ployees of its subsidiary companies also have the privileges of its 
bathhouse and library. 

The Calumet & Hecla Co. has built and now owns 10 school build- 
ings, which are used as public schools, and for which Calumet Town- 
ship pays rent. It also has built and owns an armory which is used 
by the local military company, and for which the State pays rent. 
It has given the ground for the Young Men's Christian Association 
building in Calumet and for most of the church buildings in the town- 
ship and has contributed to their support. 

Following are replies by the various companies involved in the 
strike to the requests " Describe welfare agencies of the company and 
charge to employees for each": 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 

The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. maintains the following institutions solely for 
the welfare of the employees, viz: 

PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

The public library contains 35,000 volumes, and literature in the various languages 
which may be of interest to the employees. This library is free to any resident of 
Calumet Township. 

BATHHOUSE. 

The company operates a modern bathhouse, built at a cost of $50,000, containing 
tubs, showers, and a swimming pool 26 by 40 feet. For the use of this bathhouse a 
charge of 2^ cents is made per bath, except in the case of the women's department, 
which is free to women and also children, who must be accompained by an adult 
female attendant. This charge of 2\ cents merely covers the cost of washing the 
towels and in no way compensates for the operation of the bathhouse proper. This 
bathhouse is designed in two sections to take care of both men and women of the com- 
munity. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 125 

HOSPITAL. 

A company hospital is also maintained, for which a charge of 50 cents per month is 
made to all single men and $1 per month for married men. This $1 covers medical 
and surgical attention and all medicines that may be necessary for the entire family. 
In addition to the doctor regularly employed in taking care of the accident cases, 
the company employs eight physicians who furnish all necessary attention in the 
homes of our employees, and in addition to this, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist 
of high standing. Should any family require surgical and hospital service, such 
surgical service is covered by the $1 and a hospital charge at the rate of 66 cents per 
day is made while confined in the hospital. 

For a period of 40 months in the years 1897, 1898, 1899, and 1900 the company 
paid all the hospital and aid-fund charges for its employees. 

At the present time a new hospital is being erected, which is estimated to cost 
$250,000. This hospital will be equipped with every modern appliance conducive to 
efficiency and the comfort of the patients. 

AID FUND. 

Established July 1, 1877, for the purpose of providing a fund to aid in the case of 
sickness, accident, or death by accident. 

Every man who desires to accept the benefits of this fund shall be charged through 
the mine office monthly with the sum of 50 cents, and every boy whose wages shall 
not exceed the sum of $30 per month shall be charged 25 cents. 

, To the amount collected each month the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. will add the 
same amount, to be placed to the credit of said fund. 

When a contributor is disabled for labor by accident while actually engaged in 
work or labor for the company he shall receive from the aid fund, at the rate of $25 
per month, or fractional part thereof. 

When a contributor dies from injuries received there shall be paid from the fund 
the sum of $500. 

When a contributor is disabled for labor from sickness he shall receive at a rate of 
$25 per month, or fractional part thereof, payment to commence on the fifth day of 
sickness. 

This fund shall be governed by a committee consisting of the mine physician, the 
chief mining captain, and one miner. 

From time to time there have been reductions in the charges for the fund and during 
the calendar years of 1897, 1898, 1899, and 1900 the company paid the employees' 
charges for the fund. The charges were resumed in January, 1901, on which date 
the wages of all employees were raised 2\ per cent to cover charges. 

Amount collected from employees for fund to Jan. 1, 1913 $504, 881. 37 

Amount donated by company 625, 482. 87 

Total payments to members 1, 596, 707. 14 

Liabilities: 

Trustees 85, 000. 00 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co 25, 290. 02 



110, 290. 02 



Assets: 

472 shares of Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 's stock, selling price Aug. 

7, 1913 193, 520. 00 

PENSION FUND. 

In 1904 the company started a pension fund. Certain employees who had attained 
the age of 60 years or more and who had been in the company's employ 20 years or 
more, were retired on a pension proportioned to length of service and wages and for a 
period of five years. 

From May 1, 1897, to January 1, 1901, the company paid in addition to the sum 
provided for in case of death and permanent disability by the aid fund in accordance 
with its rules, a sum equal to that provided for by said rules, viz, $500 in case of death 
and $300 for permanent disability. 

AID OUTSIDE OF REGULAR AID FUND. 

To relieve wants of men not entitled to aid from employees' aid fund bv its rules, 
from 1900 to 1909, $3,860. 



126 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



FREE FUEL DISTRIBUTION. 



To the widows or orphans of quondam employees, to any employees who have been 
unfortunate in any of many different ways, and to any with a very large family and 
no income but the man's wages, the company has for many years given free wood, 
sufficient for the whole summer's requirements, upon request, and many loads of coal 
when circumstances justified it. The teaming cost alone of this wood delivery is in 
the neighborhood of $100 per month. 



CALUMET & HECLA BROOM FACTORY. 

In July, 1903, the company built and equipped a broom factory and engaged a teacher, 
who taught three of our blind miners to make brooms. Total outlay, $1,400. Since 
that time the factory has been and is self-supporting. 

PASTURAGE. 

Pasturage is furnished to all employees for one cow, a charge of $1.50 being made 
for each additional cow. 

GARBAGE REMOVAL. 

All garbage is collected and removed without cost to the employees. 

ELECTRIC LIGHT. 

The company has made a contract with the local electric light company whereby 
employees living in company houses are furnished with electricity at a reduced rate, 
viz, 8 cents per kilowatt hour; the regular rate being 12 cents per kilowatt hour. This 
reduction is granted to the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. in consideration of its owner- 
ship of the pole lines running over the company's property. 

VOLUNTARY RELIEF FUND (INAUGURATED MAY, 1912). 

Monthly payments to widows or orphans of deceased employees who lost their lives 
from either sickness or accident while in the employ of the company. This relief is 
started with each widow whose circumstances seem to require it shortly after the 
death of the support (breadwinner) of the family and continued until it is not neces- 
sary. Payments have been made for as long as 12 years in one case, and in one case 
over $1,200 was paid to a widow in less than 4 years, when she remarried. 

One hundred and eighty widows or orphans (only a few of the latter) have been paid 
from this fund to date $29,292. 

INSURANCE. 

Any employee during illness is entitled to 8 months' aid or a total of $200, but should 
disability continue beyond the 8 months and death result within 12 months of the 
expiration of said aid, the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. will pay the sum of $250 ex- 
clusively to such relatives of the deceased as are first named in the following list: (1) 
To the widow; (2) to the children; (3) to the father and mother or either of them; (4) 
to the brothers and sisters. 

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 

To the thirty -odd churches in the community the company has contributed the sum 
of $35,762. The company has also given free a site for all the churches on its location, 
and to the Young Men's Christian Association, and has also made a liberal donation to 
the Young Men's Christian Association. The company also owns 10 school buildings. 

In addition to the above it is a rule of the company that no one residing on company 
property shall be allowed to suffer from the want of necessities of life. 

Free open-air concerts are given by the Calumet & Hecla Band throughout the 
summer season. 

Osceola Consolidated Mining Co. 

The company contributes to charity and church organizations; all employees and 
their families have access to the public library and bathhouse in Calumet. There is 
no charge to employees on account of welfare agencies. The company pays $250 in 
case an employee dies from illness, the payment being made to the nearest dependent 
or relative. 

Pensions of $15 to $20 per month are paid to old retired employees. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 127 

Isle Royale Copper Co. 

Upon the death of an employee from sickness, the company pays the sum of $250 
to his heirs, as are first named in the following list: (1) To the widow; (2) to the 
children; (3) to the father and mother or either of them; (4) to the brothers and 
sisters. No charge is made to employees for this benefit. 

Ahmeek Mining Co. 

Employees are allowed the use of small patches of ground for garden truck, etc.; 
also free pasturage. 

They have access to the Calumet & Hecla library, which is well equipped. A 
charity account is carried in the cost sheet for necessary cases, and the company has 
given out strict orders that no one be allowed to suffer on company property for the 
want of necessaries of life whether it be an employee or not. 

The company also maintains an employees' aid fund, by which the employees are 
paid $1 per day for sickness for each day after the sixth day they are off duty through 
sickness. 

This aid fund also pays injured employees SI per day from the sixth day to the 
fourteenth day after injury, as the compensation act covers only after the fourteenth 
day. No charges are made by the company for any of the above. Employees have 
not contributed to the aid fund since August, 1912. 

Tamarack Mining Co. 

Free access to library. Baths at 2\ cents. House rent free to widows. Wood sup- 
plied to widows. Company pays $250 on death of an employee from sickness. 

Allotjez Mining Co. and Centennial Copper Mining Co. 

Free pasturage for cows. Wood (old shaft rollers, etc.) allowed to parties who are 
in need. Charity accounts carried on cost sheets and strict orders given that no per- 
son living on the company's land, whether employee or not, be allowed to be in dire 
necessity. Donation of $250 to the relative or relatives of a member of the aid fund 
who dies from illness. Outlying lands of the company are rented (preferably to em- 
ployees) as farms, with rates from $10 to $20 per annum for 40 acres. Small, irregular 
pieces of land are rented, preferably to employees, as potato patches, etc., at nominal 
rentals, from $1 to $5 a year, depending on size, and in some cases no charge at all. 
Employees have privileges of Calumet & Hecla public bathhouse, at 2\ cents per bath. 

Employees have privileges of Calumet & Hecla public library. Open air band con- 
certs by the Calumet & Hecla band in summer. Preliminary plans have been made 
for a workmen's club house. Company ambulance to take patients to hospital, whether 
employee or member of employee's family, in case of accident or illness. 

Superior Copper Co. 

We carry a charity account. We have general orders that no one in our employ or 
living upon company property shall go hungry. All employees have free pastures 
for cattle and free land for gardens. In cases of death by sickness the company pays 
$250 to the nearest relative. There are free band concerts during the summer. 

La Salle Copper Co. 

This company has no special welfare agencies. Employees are on an equal footing 
with Calumet & Hecla employees in the use of the Calumet & Hecla bathhouse and 
library. The company will not knowingly allow any one on its property, whether 
employee or not, to suffer for lack of necessities; one pauper family receives free 
house rent. Pasturage for one cow to a familv is free. 

Copper Range Consolidated Co. 

There are no specific welfare agencies maintained by the company unless the 
maintenance of a public library at Painesdale and branches at other locations comes 
under this head, all of which is free to employees and the public. There are free 
baths at the library in Painesdale, and bathing equipment of change houses, tubs, and 
showers, are open to men at all times free. 



128 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Lake Copper Co. 

A mine that is not yet paying expenses can not go far in the line of charities, but an 
aid fund is maintained for the employees, for which a deduction of 50 cents a month 
is made. 

The Liaurium Mining Co. reported, "This company has no special 
welfare agencies;" the Qnincy Mining Co. reported, "None for which 
any charge is made;" the Wolverine Copper Mining Co., Franklin 
Mining Co., Hancock Consolidated Mining Co., Oneco Copper Mining 
Co., Houghton Copper Co., Winona Copper Co., and Mass Consoli- 
dated Mining Co. reported, "None;" and the Mohawk Mining Co. 
made no answer to the inquiry. 

MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT. 

The Michigan copper district, also called the Lake Superior copper 
range, embraces mines in Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon 
counties. These three counties are the most northern part of the 
Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Houghton and Keweenaw coun- 
ties constitute the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is about 40 miles 
wide, east to west, at its base, and projects about 70 miles northeast 
into Lake Superior. The greater number of mines in this district, 
and the mines with the largest production, are in Houghton County, 
which lies between Ontonagon County on the south and Keweenaw 
County on the north. The developed and developing part of the 
Michigan copper district is about 100 miles long, and varies in width 
from 3 to 5 miles. The lodes or veins of copper are tilted at various 
angles, from 20 degrees to 72 degrees with the horizon. Those that 
are being mined vary from 35 to 72 degrees. 

The production of copper on a commercial basis in the Michigan 
district began in 1845. This district is the oldest copper-producing 
range in the United States, except Santa Rita, N. Mex., where pro- 
duction began about 1800. From 1845 to 1912, inclusive, Michigan 
produced 5,205,717,606 pounds of copper, or 29.53 per cent of the 
total output in the United States. In total production to the end 
of 1912 Michigan is surpassed only by Montana, which has produced 
33.44 per cent of the output of the United States. For many years 
subsequent to 1845 the annual production of copper was greater in 
Michigan than in any other State. Its annual production is now 
surpassed only by that of Arizona and that of Montana. According 
to "Copper in 1912," by B. S. Butler, the smelter output in pounds of 
copper during 1912 was 359,322,096 in Arizona, 308,770,826 in 
Montana, 231,112,228 in Michigan. 132,150,052 in Utah, 83,413,900 
in Nevada, 31,926,209 in Alaska, 31,516,471 in California, 29,170,400 
in New Mexico, 18,395,256 in Tennessee, and in the whole United 
States, including Alaska, 1,243,268,72c. 1 

The value of the 231,112,228 pounds of fine copper produced in 
Michigan during 1912 was $36,977,956.48, on the basis of the market 
price being 16 cents a pound; it rose to 17 cents during 1912. 

Horace J. Stevens, author of The Copper Handbook, says in a 
paper on " Mines of the Lake Superior copper district": 2 

Occasionally immense masses, of many tons weight, are found, while in the richer 
mines there is much "barrel work," i. e., masses of virgin metal, ranging from a few 

1 U. S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources of the United States, 1912. 

2 Read at twelfth annual meeting of the Lake Superior Mining Institute, held at Houghton, Mich., 
Aug. 8-10, 190G, and published in Vol. XII of the proceedings, pp. 8,9. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



129 



pounds up to 100 pounds or more in weight. The principal reliance of the mines is 
upon stamp rock; that is, amygdaloid or conglomerate rock carrying native metal, in 
sizes ranging from that of a pea down to flakes of almost microscopical dimensions that 
are saved with difficulty from the slimes at the mill. 

The following is quoted from the article on Michigan in " Copper in 
1912": 

A little native silver occurs with the copper. The lodes are of low grade, but 
characterized by great extent and rather uniform distribution of the metallic content. 
This, together with the fact that the ore is susceptible of high concentration with low 
cost of refining the resultant "mineral," makes it possible to work these low-grade de- 
posits at a good profit. The native copper occurs in the lodes in masses varying from 
microscopic size to bodies weighing hundreds of tons. The richest lode mined at pres- 
ent yields less than 1.5 per cent copper, and the poorest rock treated yields but little 
above five-tenths of 1 per cent of metal. For this low-grade ore to be profitable it 
must be handled on a large scale; this has resulted in the construction of the immense 
plants that characterize the Lake district. 

The following table taken from " Copper in 1912" shows that the 
percentage of copper extracted from the copper-bearing rock or ore 
is less than 1 per cent in Michigan, and less than in any other of the 
important copper-mining States: 

Copper produced in 1912 from ores in which copper constitutes the principal value, by 

States. 



State. 


Copper ore. 


Copper in ore. 


Percent- 
age. 


Gold in ore. 


Silver in 
ore. 


Value in 
gold and 

silver 
per ton. 


Alaska 


Short tons. 

93, 452 

6, 542, 154 

408, 622 

13,718 

98,848 

11,411,941 

5, 094, 432 

3, 276, 169 

1, 195, 683 

500 

4,569 

225, 200 

603, 229 

22 

6. 670, 845 

1,160 

15, 715 

155 


Pounds. 

29,230,491 

359, 407, 265 

31,538,740 

1, 622, 605 

6, 663, 229 

218, 138, 408 

301, 925, 189 

85,579,530 

33,528,958 

75,915 

260,429 

594, 022 

18,4S3,173 

721 

127, 712, 169 

112,835 

1, 054, 805 

27,570 


15.63 
2.75 
3.85 
5.91 
3.37 

.96 
2.96 
1.31 
1.40 
7.59 
2.85 

.01 
1.53 
1.64 

.96 

.98 
3.35 
8.89 


Fine ounces. 

7, 428. 08 

57,507.81 

14,219.65 

8, 759. 83 

2,039.31 


Fine ounces. 

376,593 

2,378,593 

792, 445 

224, 327 

451, 918 

528, 453 

10, 655, 055 

173, 545 

290,568 

523 

10,555 

502 

89, 893 

10 

2,542,381 

982 

230,883 

115 


$4.11 


Arizona 


.41 


California 


1.00 


Colorado 


23. 13 


Idaho 


2.81 


Michigan 


.03 


Montana 


34, 200. 83 

23,511.60 

7, 284. 74 

43.86 

616. 39 


1.42 


Nevada 


.18 


New Mexico 


.275 


North Carolina . - 


2.25 


Oregon 


4.2 


Pennsylvania and Maryland . . 
Tennessee '. 


.001 


399.82 

.24 

105, 720. 03 


.105 


Texas 


.50 


Utah 


.56 


Virginia 


.52 


Washington 


13. 431 
.95 


9.21 


Wyoming 


.59 






Total and average 


35,656,414 


1,215,956,054 


1.71 


261, 867. 45 


18,747,341 


.47 



During recent years great improvement has been made in the 
methods of stamping and smelting the copper-bearing rock, so that 
much rock which had too small a percentage of copper to pay for 
mining, stamping, and smelting by old methods can now be produced 
profitably. At Lake Linden, Mich., where the stamp mill of the 
Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. is located, there is a pile of sand, covering 
many acres, which is the refuse accumulated from the stamp mill for 
40 years. Analysis has shown that there are 5 pounds of copper in 
each ton of this sand, and it is intended that the sand shall be put 
through a regrinding process, which has been invented in the last 
four years. A regrinding mill is being erected, and it is estimated 
that $100,000,000 worth of copper can be saved from this sand. 

Following is a list of the mining companies now operating in the 
Michigan copper district, with the capitalization of each and the 

27603— S. Doc. 381, 62-3 9 



130 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



dividends paid by each. While, as will be seen from the table, most 
of the subsidiary companies largely owned or controlled by the 
Calumet & Hecla Co. were not yet paying dividends, the annual 
statement of that company for 1912 showed that the value of real 
estate owned by the corporation and us?d in its business was $16,788,- 
104, and of real estate not used in its business was $686,520, and that 
the value of assets in excess of liabilities December 31, 1912, was 
$10,716,414. The extent of the stock interest of the Calumet & 
Hecla Co. in these subsidiary companies is shown on page 131. 

[Information more in detail as to the organization and properties of these mining companies is given in the 

appendix.] 



Company. 



Year 
organ- 
ized. 



Par 
value 

per 
share. 



Capital stock. 



Author- 
ized. 



Amount 

issued, Amount 

par paid in. 

value. 



Dividends 

to 1912, 
inclusive. 



Calumet & Hecla Mining Co 

Subsidiary companies: 

Ahmeek Mining Co 

Allouez Mining Co 

Centennial Copper Mining Co 

Cliff Mining Co 

Gratiot Mining Co 

Isle Royale Mining Co 

La Salle Copper Co 

Larium Mining Co 

Osceola Consolidated Mining Co. . . 

Seneca Mining Co 

Superior Copper Co 

Tamarack Mining Co 

White Pine Copper Co. (common). 

White Pine Copper Co. (preferred). 

Copper Range Consolidated Co 

Subsidiary companies: 

Baltic Mining Co 

Trimountain Mining Co 

Champion Copper Co i 

Atlantic Mining Co j 

Quincy Mining Co j 

Mohawk Mining Co i 

Wolverine Copper Mining Co 

Franklin Mining Co j 

Indiana Mining Co 

North Lake Mining Co 

South Lake Mining Co 

Algomah Mining Co i 

Winona Copper Co i 

Houghton Copper Co j 

Mass. Consolidated Mining Co j 

Hancock Consolidated Mining Co j 

Oneco Copper Mining Co I 

Lake Copper Co 

Victoria Copper Mining Co 



1872 

1880 
1859 
1896 
1910 
1906 
1899 
1906 
1909 
1873 
1860 
1904 
1882 
1909 
1909 
1901 



1899 
1899 
1872 ; 
1848 ! 
1898 ; 
1890 
1857 ' 
1909 

1908 j 
1909 
1910 

1898 j 

1909 I 

1899 ! 
1906 
1899 
1905 



$25 

25 
25 
25 
25 
3 

25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
100 

25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 



§2,500,000 

1,250,000 
2,500,000 
2,500,000 
2,500,000 
300,000 
3,750,000 

10,000,000 
1,000,000 
2,500,000 
500,000 
2,500,000 
1,500,000 
3,750,000 
1,250,000 

40,000,000 



500,000 
500,000 
500,000 
500,000 
750,000 
500,000 
500,000 
000,000 
500,000 
500,000 
500,000 
500,000 
000,000 
500,000 
500,000 
000, 000 
500,000 
500,000 
500,000 



$2,500,000 

1,250,000 
2,500,000 
2,250,000 
1,500,000 

300,000 
3,750,000 
7,574,425 
1,000,000 
2,403,750 

500,000 
2,500,000 
1,500,000 
2,133,000 

152,300 
39,369,200 

2,500,000 

2,500,000 

2, 500, 000 

2,500,000 

2,750,000 ! 

2,500,000 

1,500,000 ! 

4,158,950 ! 

2,000,000 

2,500,000 

1,447,975 

1,750,000 

4, 166, 675 

1,675,000 

2,500,000 

4,158,950 

1,750,000 

2, 500, 000 

2,500,000 



$1,200,000 

850,000 
2,225,000 
1,750,000 
780,000 
300,000 
0) 
0) 
(*) 

0) 

200,000 

0) 
C 1 ) 
C 1 ) 

0) 

C 1 ) 

1,800,000 

2,000,000 

2,500,000 

1,180,000 

2,150,000 

2,100,000 

780,000 

2,362,284 

840,000 

800,000 

382,265 

770,000 

3,833,341 

402,000 

2,300,000 

2,362,284 

385,000 

300,000 

1,400,000 



$120,050,000 

1,350,000 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 
11,170,100 

None. 

None. 
9,420,000 

None. 

None. 
12,902,249 

7,750,000 

1,250,000 

943,876 

None. 

20,430,000 

2,250,000 

7,440,000 

1,240,000 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 



Total. 



133,550,000 



119,040,225 



5 



196,196,225 



Not reported. 



The mines of several of the companies that have not paid dividends 
are still in the " prospect" stage of development. 

The strike of 1913 affected the mines of all the companies included 
in the table except the Atlantic Mining Co., which was not then in 
operation, the White Pine Copper Co., and the Victoria Copper 
Mining Co. 

The following is quoted from the annual report of the Calumet & 
Hecla Mining Co. for the year ending December 3, 1912. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 131 

The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns: 



Shares. Company. 



Shares 
issued. 



24, 200 Ahmeek Mining Co 

41, 000 . Allouez Mining Co 

41, 500 Centennial Copper Mining Co 

19. 400 Cliff Mining Co 

50, 100 Gratiot Mining Co 

30, 500 Isle Royale Copper Co 

152, 077 ! La Salle Copper Co 

37. 550 Laurium Mining Co 

32,750 '' Osceola Consolidated Mining Co.. 

11, 207 , Seneca Mining Co 

50. 100 ' Superior Copper Co 

19, 400 Tamarack Mining Co 

43,202 White Pine Copper Co., common. 

6,092 i White Pine Copper Co.. preferred. 



50,000 

100,000 

90,000 

60,000 

100,000 

1.50,000 

302,977 

40,000 

96,150 

20,000 

100,000 

60,000 

85,320 

6,092 



Several years ago the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. formed a plan 
to secure control of a number of other mining companies, and it pur- 
chased stock in 13 companies — in some cases a majority of the stock 
and in other cases a controlling interest in the stock issue. In 1911 
the Calumet & Hecla Co. decided to consolidate these 13 companies 
with itself and proposed to the stockholders of these companies that 
they exchange their stock for Calumet & Hecla stock on a basis that 
was offered by the directors of the Calumet & Hecla Co. The pro- 
posed basis of stock exchange was not satisfactory to some of the 
stockholders of the 13 companies, as they considered that they were 
not offered a fair equivalent. Some of the dissatisfied stockholders 
attacked the consolidation in the courts, on the ground that it was a 
violation of the Sherman antitrust law. After these suits had been 
started, the directors of the Calumet & Hecla Co., by a circular dated 
October 6, 1911, announced the abandonment of the plan for con- 
solidation, or rather the plan for the exchange of stock. Neverthe- 
less, these 13 companies are now practically consolidated with the 
Calumet & Hecla Co., for they have the same officers, practically the 
same directors, and they are managed as a single corporation. Suits 
are now pending to prevent the Calumet & Hecla Co., or its officers, 
from voting the shares that company owns in the 13 other companies. 
Two suits started by Godfrey M. Hyams are pending in the United 
States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and one started 
by Charles M. Turner is pending in the circuit court for the county of 
Ingham, Mich. 

The Franklin Mining Co., Indiana Mining Co., North Lake Mining 
Co., South Lake Mining Co., and Algomah Mining Co., are under the 
same management. 

The Winona Copper Co. and the Houghton Copper Co. are under 
the same management. 

The Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. and the Oneco Mining Co. 
are under the same management. 

The Cooper Range Consolidated Co. and the Isle Royale Mining 
Co. were incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, the Gratiot 
Mining Co. under the laws of Maine, and all the other companies 
under the laws of Michigan. 

The Copper Range Consolidated Co. is a holding company, and 
holds the stock of the Baltic Mining Co., the Trimountain Mining Co., 



132 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

the Champion Copper Co., the Atlantic Mining Co., the Copper Range 
Railroad Co., and the Copper Range Co. (a land and timber com- 
pany). 

The Mohawk Mining Co. and the "Wolverine Mining Co. are under 
the same management. 

The mines of the Ahmeek Mining Co. and Mohawk Mining Co are 
in Keweenaw County; the mines of the White Pine Copper Co., 
Indiana Mining Co., North Lake Mining Co., South Lake Mining Co., 
Algomah Mining Co., Mass Consolidated Mining Co., Lake Copper 
Co., and Victoria Copper Mining Co. are in Ontonagon County; the 
mines of the other companies in Houghton County. 
' The head office of the Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. is at 
Hancock, Mich.; the head offices of the Quincy Mining Co., Mohawk 
Mining Co., and Wolverine Mining Co. are in New York; the head 
offices of all the other companies are at Boston. 

The people of Michigan have for years. been discussing a measure, 
proposed in several sessions of the legislature, to assess a tonnage tax 
on all copper mined in the State. Sentiment in favor of this measure 
is undoubtedly growing, though strongly combatted by the mining 
companies. The argument urged in favor of the measure is that the 
people of Michigan are entitled to more of the benefits derived from 
its natural resources than they now receive. The greater part of the 
stock of the copper mining companies is owned in Boston or elsewhere 
in the Eastern States, and probably not over 10 per cent is owned by 
citizens of Michigan. An official list of the stockholders of the Calu- 
met & Hecla Mining Co., the largest company in the district, which 
is on file in the office of the circuit court for tne county of Houghton, 
shows 98,109 shares outstanding on January 1, 1912, the shares 
having a par value of $25 each. Of these 98,109 shares 4,550, or 
4.64 per cent, were owned by citizens of Houghton County; 5,022, 
or 5.12 per cent, by citizens of other counties in Michigan, and 88,537, 
or 90.24 per cent, by persons whose residences were in other States. 

Copper mining is practically the only industry in the Michigan 
copper district. The agricultural resources of the land have been but 
little developed. Originally it was a fine timber country. Most of 
the timber suitable for lumber has been cut, but much timber grown 
in the district is used in the mines. 

The Great Lakes give the district cheap transportation facilities 
for the copper that is shipped out of the district and for the coal and 
other materials that are brought into the district. A ship canal, 
called the Portage Lake Canal, and owned by the United States, 
passes through Houghton County, greatly shortening the distance 
from one end of Lake Superior to the other. The copper district 
is served by the Mineral Range, the Copper Range, and the Keweenaw 
Central Railroads, which connect with the Chicago & North Western 
Railroad and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. 






MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTRICT STRIKE. 133 

POPULATION OF THE DISTRICT. 

As shown by the Thirteenth Census of the United States, the popu- 
lation of Houghton County in 1910 was 88,098; Keweenaw County, 
7,156; and Ontonagon County, 8,650. The principal places in these 
counties, with their population in 1910, were as follows: Houghton 
County — Houghton village, the county seat, 5,113; Hancock city, 
8,981; Laurium village, 8,537; Red Jacket village, 4,211; Calumet 
Township (including Laurium and Red Jacket villages), 32,845. 
Keweenaw County — Ahmeek village, 766. Ontonagon County— 
Ontonagon village, 1,964.* Other statistics of the population of these 
counties, as shown by the census of 1910, appear in the following 
table: 2 

Population of Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties, Mich. — Male and female, 
native and foreign born, 1910. 



Popu.atior, H c ou g "y° n 



Keweenaw Ontonagon m rtfol 
County. County. I IotaL 



47,353 


4,186 


4,835 


56,374 


40,745 


2,970 


3,815 


47,530 


87,990 


7,153 


8,644 


103,787 


108 


3 


6 


117 


9,446 


585 


1,719 


11,750 


35,761 


2,739 


2,930 


41,430 


9,450 


633 


1,060 


11,143 


33,333 


3, 196 


2,935 


39,464 


25,481 


2,365 


2,732 


30,678 


18,001 


1,856 


1,615 


21,472 


7,742 


821 


945 


9,508 


2,875 


270 


122 


3,267 


6,562 


671 


418 


7,651 


822 


90 


130 


1,042 



Total population 88,098 | 7,156 8,650 103,904 

Male 

Female 

White 

Other races 

Native white, native parentage 

Native white, foreign parentage 

Native white, mixed parentage 

Foreign-born white 

Males of voting age 

Foreign-born white of voting age 

Foreign-born white, naturalized 

Foreign-born white having first paper? 

Alien 

Unknown 



As will be seen the population of the three counties is largely of 
foreign birth. Of the total white population, 103,787, in the three 
counties combined, 39,464, or 38.02 per cent, were foreign-born white, 
41,430, or 39.92 per cent, were native white of foreign parentage; 
11,143, or 10.74 per cent, were native white of mixed parentage, and 
only 11,750, or 11.32 per cent, were native white of native parentage. 

Of the 21,472 foreign-born white of voting age in the three counties, 
only 9,508, or 44.28 per cent, were naturalized. In addition there 
were 3,267 foreign-born white who had taken out first papers, but 
they are not eligible to vote under the laws of Michigan. 

1 Thirteenth Census, bulletin: Population, Michigan. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor 
Civil Divisions. 

2 Thirteenth Census, bulletin: Population, Michigan. Composition and Characteristics of the Population 



134 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



The number of residents of the three counties who were born in 
foreign countries, as shown by the Thirteenth Census of the United 
States, was as follows : 1 

Number of white persons residing in Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties, 
Mich., who were born in foreign countries, 1910. 



Foreign white. 


Houghton 
County. 


Keweenaw 
County. 


Ontonagon 
County. 


Total. 


Bom in— 

Austria 


3,333 

26 

2,616 

1,477 

51 

4,459 

11,536 

146 

1,723 

65 

17 

921 

799 

2,634 

1,030 

348 

353 

1,512 

85 

73 

56 

73 


508 


165 

7 

199 

324 

24 

163 

1,158 

8 

195 


4,006 
33 


Belgium 


Canada, French 


•128 

42 

9 

640 

1,200 

5 

87 


2,943 
1 843 


Canada, Other 


Denmark 


' 84 


England 

Finland 

France 

Germany 

Greece 


5,262 

13,894 

159 

2,005 

65 


Holland 


1 

158 
22 
144 
120 
32 
15 
73 
3 




18 


Hungary 

Ireland 


4 

91 

33 

58 

244 

15 

221 

12 

1 

2 

11 


1,083 
912 


Italy 


2,811 


Norway 


1,208 
624 


"Russia 


Scotland 


383 


Sweden 


1,806 
100 


Switzerland 


Turkey 


74 


Wales 




58 


Other foreign countries. . . . 


9 


93 






Total 


33, 333 


3,196 


2,935 


39,464 





The development of the Michigan copper range began about 1844. 
The first foreigners employed in the range were Cornishmen, Scotch- 
men, Irishmen, and Germans. They came to the district in the early 
years of development, and they constituted the greater proportion 
of the mine workers during the first 30 years. Of these the Cornish- 
men or their descendants are now the most numerous. Canadians 
began to come prior to 1870. In the seventies Finlanders, Swedes, 
and Norwegians began to arrive, and in the eighties Italians. About 
1890 Croatians began to come, and they were followed, in the nineties, 
by other Austrians, and by Hungarians and Poles. The Finlanders 
are twice as numerous as the mine workers of any other race. 

As shown by the last preceding table, 39^464 of the white persons 
in the three counties were born in foreign countries, and of these 
13,894, or slightly over one-third, were born in Finland, 6,625 in 
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, 5,089 in Austria and Hun- 
gary, 4,786 in Canada, 3,098 in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, 
2,811 in Italy, and 2,005 in Germany. 

The number of native white residents of the three counties both of 
whose parents were born in foreign countries, as shown by the Thir- 
teenth Census, was as follows. 1 

1 Thirteenth Census, bulletin: " Population, Michigan. Composition and Character of the Population." 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



135 



Number of white persons residing in Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties, 
Mich., whose parents were born in foreign countries — 1910. 



Native white. 



Houghton 
County. 



Keweenaw 
County. 



Ontonagon 
County. 



Total. 



Both parents born in — 

Austria 

Canada — French 

Canada — Other 

Denmark 

England 

France 

Germany 

Holland 

Hungary 

Ireland 

Italy 

Norway 

Russia 

Scotland 

Sweden 

Switzerland 

All others of foreign parentage 1 

Total 



2,537 

4,110 

730 

50 

4,407 

95 

3,630 

10 

314 

1,796 

1,674 

930 

302 

245 

1.439 

84 

13,408 



327 
179 
25 

3 
410 

3 
191 



3 
1,151 



132 
217 
184 

17 
154 

10 

335 

5 

2 

211 

26 

38 
196 

12 

151 

7 



2,996 

4,506 

939 

70 

4,971 

108 

4,156 

15 

366 

2,099 

1,782 

1,063 

564 

261 

1,648 

94 

15, 792 



35, 761 



2,739 



2,930 



41,430 



i Native whites having both parents born in countries other than specified, and also those having both 
parents of foreign birth but born in different countries. 

In reporting the number of native white persons both of whose par- 
ents were born in foreign countries, the census did not enumerate 
separately those born in Finland, but the number is undoubtedly 
large. 

The mining companies dominate the economic, industrial, and 
political situation in the district. Mining is the only big industry, 
and all other business is dependent upon it. The mining companies 
own most of the land in the district, pay most of the taxes, and in 
some townships pay 90 per cent of the taxes. They refuse to sell 
any land even with the mining rights reserved. Therefore outside of 
the city of Hancock and the few incorporated villages there are very 
few freeholders, and nearly all of the nouses are owned by the com- 
panies and rented to employees, or were built by employees on land 
rented by ground-rent leases. The terms of these leases are explained 
in a section of this report headed " Stipulations in leases." 

Community interests are almost entirely subject to the direction 
of the mine managers. Most of the churches in the district were 
built on land that the mining companies have given and most of the 
schools have been built by the companies and rented by them to the 
townships. The mine managers control the school boards, and their 
powerful influence is felt in the nomination and election of village, 
township, and county officers. There are 18 members of the board 
of supervisors in Houghton County, and they assess property and 
decide on all expenditures for county purposes. Following is a list 
of the members of the present board, with the business connection of 
each : 



Board of supervisors of Houghton County, April, 1918, to April, 1914. 

Adams Township: A. D. Edwards, formerly chief clerk Atlantic Mining Co. ; member 

of Michigan House of Representatives. 
Calumet Township: James MacNaughton, general manager Calumet & Hecla Mining 

Co. 
Chassel Township: Edward Hamar, geneial manager Worcester Lumber Co. 



136 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Duncan Township: A. G. Johnston, represents Piicket Farming Land & Lumber Co . 

Elm River Township: Rex R. Seeber, superintendent Winona Mining Co. 

Franklin Township: Richard Rourke, jr., bartender. 

Hancock Township: Patrick Sollman, farmei. 

Laird Township: Peter Hiltunen, farmer; contractor for getting out timber for Wor- 
cester Lumber Co. 

Osceola Township: A. L. Burgan, superintendent Osceola Tamarack Stamp Mills. 

Portage Township: Gust. T. Hartmann, formerly superintendent Copper Range 
Railroad. His brother is superintendent of the Mohawk mine. 

Quincy Township: Charles L. Lawton, general manager Quincy Mining Co. 

Schoolcraft Township: Samuel Eddy, sawmill owner; furnishes lumber to mining 
companies. 

Stanton Township: Edward Koepel, superintendent stamp mills of Copper Consoli- 
dated Co. 

Torch Lake Township: Charles Smith, chief clerk stamp mill of Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co. 

Hancock, first ward: John L. Harris, superintendent Hancock Mining Co. 

Hancock, second ward: Charles S. Mason, coal, brick, wood, lime, and tile dealer; 
used by companies. 

Hancock, third ward: John Funkey, sr., hardware merchant; sells to mining com- 
panies. 

Hancock, fourth ward: Richard H. Hosking, stone and brick contractor. 

It will be noticed that the board is largely composed of mine officers. 
Most of the other members are engaged in business enterprises, such 
as the lumber industry, which are closely connected with the mining 
companies and dependent on them. Among the 18 directors there is 
only one, and he is a Socialist, who did not usually vote with the 
others on questions before the board relating to the strike. 

If all the foreigners in the copper range should become natural- 
ized and the working people should vote together, they undoubtedly 
could control the elections, but fear discharge from employment by the 
companies, and that means in most cases that they could not obtain 
other employment in the district, and in some cases that they would 
lose the homes they have built. According to the United States census 
there were in 1910 hi Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties 
30,578 males of voting age; the foreign-born white of voting age 
numbered 21,472; the foreign-born white who were naturalized 
numbered 9,508, and the foreign-born white who had first papers 
numbered 3,267. In Michigan foreign-born males who have taken 
out only first papers are not eligible to vote. The foreign-born white 
that are naturalized are only 31.09 per cent of the number of males of 
voting age, but the number of foreign-born white of voting age is 
70.22 per cent of the total males of voting age. 

Three daily papers printed in the English language are published 
in Houghton County — a morning paper at Houghton^ an evening 
paper at Hancock, and an evening paper at Calumet. These three 
dailies advocate the policies of the mining companies and voice the 
opinions of the mine managers. A number of newspapers printed 
in foreign languages are published in Houghton County — a daily 
Finnish paper at Hancock (a strong socialistic organ), a daily Finnish 
paper at Calumet, a triweekly Finnish paper at Hancock, a semi- 
weekly Finnish paper at Calumet, a daily Italian paper at Calumet, a 
triweekly Croatian paper at Calumet, and a weekly Slavonian paper 
at Calumet. 



APPENDIX I. 

Agreement Between Western Federation of Miners and Butte & Superior 

Copper Co. 

Following is a copy of a contract or agreement between the federation and one of the 
Montana companies, which is similar in essentials to the contracts with other com- 
panies, all of which contracts are made for three years: 

This agreement, made and entered into this 3d day of July, A. D. 1912, by and 
between the Butte Miners Union No. 1, Western Federation of Miners, hereinafter 
designated as the "union" party of the first part, and the Butte & Superior Copper 
Co. (Ltd.), hereinafter designated as the "mining company," party of the second 
part, witnesseth: 

Whereas, the said mining company employs a number of the members of the union 
at and about its mines in the vicinity of Butte, Silver Bow County, Mont., and it is 
the desire of each of the respective parties hereto to perpetuate friendly relations and 
at the same time to have a definite agreement with reference to the compensation to 
be paid the members of the union employed by the mining company: 

Now, therefore, in consideration of the mutual promises and agreements hereinafter 
specified, it is agreed between the respective parties hereto as follows, to wit: 

1. That 8 hours in each 24 hours shall constitute a shift or day's work. 

2. That the men employed underground, belonging to said union, shall start to go 
down the shaft or into other mine opening at the beginning of a shift, and shall leave 
their places of work at the expiration of eight and one-half hours from that time, it 
being understood that the miners shall have one-half hour of said time in which to eat 
lunch, the miners to be hoisted or come from their work on their own time. It is also 
understood that where three consecutive shifts are employed, eight consecutive 
hours shall constitute a day's work. 

3. Where the word "miner" is used in this agreement [sic], shall mean all under- 
ground men engaged in any of the work of mining and cage tenders at the collar of 
the shaft. 

4. The rate or amount of wages to be paid miners for a day's work or, proportion- 
ately, for a part of a day's work shall be determined as follows: 

The average price of electrolytic copper as given in the Engineering and Mining 
Journal for each calendar month shall be the basis for determining the rate of wages. 

5. The Mining Company agrees that it will during the continuance of this contract, 
pay a minimum wage scale, which shall be equal to the amount which the members 
of the Union were receiving during the month of May, 1912. 

6. When the average monthly price of electrolytic copper is 15 cents and over 
and under 17 cents, the wages of all men within the jurisdiction of the Union em- 
ployed underground shall be increased 25 cents per day over and above the wages 
m effect during the month of May, 1912; when the price of electrolytic copper is 
17 cents and over, the wages of all men employed underground belonging to the 
Union shall be increased an additional 25 cents per day over the scale of wages received 
during the month of May, 1912. 

The intention of the foregoing is that when the average monthly price of electro- 
lytic copper is under 15 cents per pound all miners other than miners employed in 
shafts, station cutting and winzes, and station tenders shall receive $3.50 per day;; 
for all miners employed in shafts, station cutting and winzes, and station tenders 
the wage rate shall be $4 per day. When the average monthly price of electrolytic 
copper is 15 cents and under 17 cents, then the wage rate shall be $3.75 per day for 
all miners other than miners employed in shafts, station cutting, and winzes and 
station tenders, and for all miners employed in shafts, station cutting, and winzes 
and station tenders the wage rate shall be $4.25 per day. When the average monthly 
price of electrolytic copper is 17 cents per pound or over, the wage rate shall be $4 
per day for all miners other than miners employed in shafts, station cutting, and 
winzes and station tenders, and for all miners in shafts, station cutting, and winzes 
and station tenders the wage rate shall be $4.50 per day. 

137 



138 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

For all men employed upon the surface at or about any of the mines of Mining 
Company, over whom the said Union has acquired jurisdiction from the Mill and 
Smeltermen's Union, the wage rate shall be as follows: When the average monthly 
price of electrolytic copper is under 15 cents, the wage rate shall be the scale formerly 
required by that Union when copper was under 18 cents per pound; when the average 
monthly price of electrolytic copper is 15 cents and over, and under 18 cents per 
pound, then the wage rate shall be increased 25 cents per day above that scale; and 
when the average monthly price of electrolytic copper is 18 cents per pound and 
over, then the wage rate for such employees shall be increased an additional 25 cents 
per day. It is understood that whenever the Company has been paying during the 
month of May a rate in excess of the Union wage scale the foregoing increase shall not 
apply, but in no case shall any employee receive less than the Union scale, as above 
provided. 

7. Should a miner's employment terminate by reason of voluntarily quitting, 
discharge, or other reason before the end of any calendar month, the rate of settlement 
in such cases shall be as follows: 

The wage rate for any settlement made for any part of a month up to and including 
the 15th of such month shall be based upon the previous month's price of electrolytic 
copper. 

The wage rate for any settlement made for any part of a month extending beyond 
the 15th of such month shall be made for the whole time of employment in said month 
at a rate based upon the average price of electrolytic copper for the first 15 days of the 
calendar month of settlement. 

8. Should the authority used in ascertaining the market price of copper appear to 
either party to this agreement to be false or wrong at any time, then either party shall 
have the right to request that a representative be appointed by each party and those 
two persons shall appoint a third, a majority of whom shall decide on the method or 
means to be used in arriving at the correct price of copper for the purpose of this 
agreement. 

9. Nothing in this agreement shall deny or preclude the right of employees, either 
themselves or through the said Union, from taking up with the Mining Company the 
question of any grievance or unfair treatment, or any matter herein agreed upon, that 
may require adjustment. 

10. It is agreed that this agreement and contract shall take effect from June 1, 1912, 
and remain in full force and effect for a period of three years from and after the date 
hereof, and that said agreement shall remain in full force and effect thereafter until 
30 days' written notice shall be given by either party to the other of its desire to termi- 
nate the contract. 

In witness whereof, the said party of the first part has caused these presents to be 
executed in duplicate by the following committee, thereunto duly authorized by 
said first party, and the party of the second part has caused these presents to be exe- 
cuted in duplicate by its proper officers, thereunto duly authorized, the day and year 
first above written. 

B y :::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Authorized Committee of Party of the First Part. 

B y :::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Its General Superintendent, Party of the Second Part. 



APPENDIX II. 

Organization and Properties of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. and Sub- 
sidiary Companies. 

[From Moody's Manual, 1913.] • 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 

Incorporated in 1871, in Michigan, as a consolidation of the Hecla, Calumet, Port- 
land, and Scott Mining Cos. Charter renewed in 1901 for 30 years and amended in 
1905, giving the company the right to hold securities of other companies, in addition 
to doing a general mining and smelting business. Owns a majority of the capital 
stock of the Gratiot Mining Co., La Salle Copper Co., Laurium Mining Co., Seneca 
Mining Co., Superior Copper Co., and White Pine Copper Co., and has substantial 
holdings in Centennial Copper Mining Co., Ahmeek Mining Co., Allouez Mining Co., 
Isle Royale Copper Co., Osceola Consolidated Mining Co., Tamarack Mining Co., and 
Cliff Mining Co. See appended statements of these companies. 

Having acquired all the capital stocks of the Frontenac Mining Co., Manitou Mining 
Co., and St. Louis Copper Co., the real and personal properties of these companies, 
together with that of the Dana Copper Co., were taken over by the Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co. during 1912. The lands formerly owned by the Manitou, Frontenac, and 
Dana companies are now known as the " Manitou-Frontenac branch" and the lands 
of the St. Louis company as the "St. Louis branch." 

Owing to the opposition on the part of minority stockholders the proposed plan of 
consolidation with subsidiaries, which was favorably voted upon by the shareholders 
of companies interested in March, 1911, was abandoned. 

Properties. — The Calumet & Hecla mine proper includes about 2,750 acres in Hough- 
ton County, Mich., being one of the largest producers in the world. Company owns 
also large tracts west of the Tamarack mine and the Metalline and Dover tracts, with 
an area of 200 acres lying immediately south of the Tecumseh, and also vast tracts of 
timber lands in Michigan and Wisconsin. The total landed holdings of the company, 
including property controlled through subsidiary corporations, mining lands under 
option, and miscellaneous lands in Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties, 
approximates 75.000 acres. 

The stamp mills are at Lake Linden, 4 miles from the mines, on a tract of 998 
acres, having several miles of frontage on Torch Lake. These mills have been entirely 
rebuilt, remodeling being completed in 1907. The new power plant at Lake Linden, 
which when completed will have a total capacity of 18,000 kilowatts, equal to more 
than 24,000 horsepower, furnishes electrical energy for the mine as well as for the mills. 
Water foi the mills is supplied by five pumps, of which the Michigan is the most 
powerful in the world, having a daily capacity of 60,000,000 gallons. The four other 
pumps have a combined capacity of 72,000.000 gallons. The Torch Lake smelter is 
situated at Hubbel, about a mile south of the company's stamp mills, on a 30-acre 
site. The smelter has four furnace buildings, each 80 feet by 130 feet, and a blister 
copper furnace building 50 feet by 70 feet, with 11 reverberatory furnaces. The 
power plant at the smelter has three 125-horsepower boilers, and a fourth boiler 
generates steam by the combustion of waste gases from the reverberatory furnaces. 
The Torch Lake smelter has deep-water shipping facilities, and in addition is served 
by three railways. 

The Buffalo Smelting Works are situated at Black Rock, N. Y., on the Niagara 
River. The works include reverberatory and blast furnaces, a 30-ton electrolytic 
refinery, and two mineral storage houses. 

Company maintains three distinct systems of water works, one at the mines in 
Calumet, one at the mills in Lake Linden, and one on the shore of Lake Superior, 
4 miles from Calumet, the latter pumping water for domestic uses. A power line 
was constructed to the Lake Superior water works in 1908-9, and the company is now 
sending water from these works to the mill boilers at Torch Lake. 

The Hecla & Torch Lake Railroad, owned by the company, connects the mines, 
mills, shops, and smelter at Torch Lake, by upward of 20 miles of tracks. The dock 

139 



140 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



system includes a series of coal sheds at Lake Linden, with one of 200,000 tons ca- 
pacity. There is a series of docks at the mills and smelter on Torch Lake, each wharf 
having at least 21 feet of clear water alongside. The ship canal connecting Torch 
Lake with the Government waterways on Portage Lake is owned and operated by the 
Calumet & Hecla. The canal is 21 feet deep and accommodates the largest vessels 
plying on the Great Lakes. Tolls on independent cargoes entering Torch Lake 
through this canal are charged by the company, the charge ranging from 2 cents 
per ton on soft coal to 50 cents per ton on package freight. The company has saw- 
mills at the head of Torch Lake. Company owns extensive tracts of pine, hemlock, 
and hardwood timber along the southern shore of Lake Superior, these lands carrying 
about 500,000.000 feet of standing timber. 

Securities owned, as of Dee. SI, 1912. 



Ahmeek Mining Co 

Allouez Mining Co 

Centennial Copper Mining Co 

Cliff Mining Co 

Gratiot Mining Co 

Isle Royale Copper Co 

La Salle Copper Co 

Lauriura Mining Co 

Osceola Consolidated Mining Co.. 

Seneca Mining Co 

Superior Copper Co 

Tamarack Mining Co 

White Pine Copper Co., preferred 
White Pine Copper Co.. common. 



Shares. 



Number 


Number 


owned. 


issued. 


24,200 


•50,000 


41,000 


100,000 


41,500 


90,000 


19,400 


60,000 


50, 100 


100,000 


30,500 


150,000 


152,977 


302, 977 


37, 550 


40.000 


32, 750 


96, 150 


11,207 


20,000 


50,100 


100,000 


19,400 


60,000 


6,092 


6,092 


43,202 


85,320 



Capited stock. — Authorized and issued, $2,500,000; par, $25, of which $12 per share 
is paid up, so that the actual cash capital paid in is only $1,200,000. Stock transferred 
at company's office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston. Registrar: American Trust Co., 
Boston. Listed on Boston Stock Exchange. 

Dividends have been paid in recent years as follows: 1896, $25; 1897, $40; 1898, $50; 
1899, $100; 1900, $70; 1901, $45; 1902, $25; 1903, $35; 1904, $40; 1905, $50; 1906, $70: 
1907, $65: 1908, $20; 1909, $27; 1910, $29; 1911, $24; 1912, $42; March, 1913, $10. 
Payments quarterly, March 20, at company's office, Boston. Total dividends paid 
from organization in 1871 to and including March 20, 1913, amounted to $121,050,000. 

Gold notes.— $4,134,000 4 per cent gold coupon notes; dated February 18, 1909; 
due February 18, 1919; interest, February and August 18, at Old Colony Trust Co . . 
Boston, trustee, coupon, $1,000. Callable at par and interest after three years. This 
is the last of four series of notes issued early in 1909 to finance the purchase from S. A. 
Bigelow of stocks of various mining companies. The other series were paid March 1, 
1912. September 1. 1912, and February 18, 1913, respectively. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 



190S 
1909 
1910 



Rock 
treated. 



Tor*s. 
2,043,938 
2, 842, 880 
2.795.514 



Refined 

copper 

produced. 



Founds. Cents. 

82.549,97* 9.00 

80.096,99.- 8.38 
72. 059, 545 



Cost 
per 
pound 
of cop- 
per pro- 
duced. 



Price 

re- 
ceived 

per 
pound. 



Cents. 
13.62 
13.61 
13.20 



1911. 
1912. 



Rock 
treated. 



Tom. 
2,909,972 
2,806,510 



Refined 

copper 

produced. 



Pounds. 
74,130,977 
67,856,429 



Price 



Cost 
per 

P- ound I ceived 



of cop- 



per 



K°1p<>- d 



Cents, 

S. 52 



Cents. 
12. 82 
16. 65 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Assets and liabilities. 



141 



Dec. 31, 
1912. 



Dec. 31. 
1911. 



Apr. 29. 
1911. 



Apr. 3i 
1910. 



Apr. 30. 
1909. 



Apr. 30. 
I90S. 



$135,585 
15,000 

6, 667, 509 
953, 212 



A mine office 

Cash At New York office 

Cash and copper at Boston 

office 

Bills receivable 

Development and equipment 

fund 

Insurance fund 

Employees' aid fund 

Sinkingfund \ 1,166,999 

Due from other companies 943, 800 

Galnmet Transportation Co. ... ' 348, 511 
Supplies 1, 329, 810 



$157,647 

15,000 



7, 072, 192 
516,293 



S157, 529 
15,000 



5, 852. 434 
546,257 



1,446,116 
975,000 
348,511 

1,189,690 



52,649 

463, 184 

1,151,800 



920,901 



$167,371 
15,000 

3, 272. 865 

'70S. 255 

1,482 

983, 177 

29,352 

369, 204 



$152,316 
15.000 

6,186,988 

406,001 

5,390 

967.920 
10. 492 



Total assets . 



11,560,426 , 11,720,449 I 9,159,754 8,546,706 



'4.107 



$182,671 

15,000 

4,488.352 

650.017 

.554 
959. 724 



6,295,720 



LIABILITIES. 

Drafts and bills payable 

Keweenaw Association notes. . 


844,012 




457,342 | 


5S2, 898 


S79, 40S 


952.338 


1.337,737 

250,000 

7,017 


Employees' aid fund 


1 






i 






Total liabilities 


844,012 




457,342 


5S2, 898 


879, 406 


952,338 


1,594,759 






Balance of assets 


10,716,414 


11 


,263,107 | 


8. 576, 856 


7.667.29S 


6.821,769 


4,700,S65 



Officers. — Quincy A. Shaw, president: R. L. Agassiz. vice president, Boston; James 
MacNaughton. second vice president and general manager, Calumet, Mich.; George 
A. Flagg, secretary and treasurer; W. C. Smith, assistant treasurer, Boston. Direc- 
tors: F. L. Higginson, Quincy A. Shaw, Walter Hunnewell. Boston: R. L. Agassiz, 
Newport. R. I.; James MacNaughton. Calumet. Mich. 

Annual meeting, second Thursday in June. 

General office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston. Mass. 

Mine office. Calumet. Mich.: mill office. Lake Linden. Houghton County, Mich. 

Companies Controlled by Calumet & Hecla Mixing Co. 



AHMEEK MINING CO. OF MICHIGAN. 

Incorporated in 1880 in Michigan. Property, located on the Kearsage lode, just 
west of the Mohawk mine, consists of about 920 acres in Kearsage. Keweenaw County. 
Mich. Development work was begun in 1902 and now includes four shafts, No. 1 
being 2.472 feet deep; No. 2, 2,643 feet: No. 3, 2,136 feet: and No. 4. 2.146 feet. 
Rock is being stamped at the Osceola and Tamarack mills. Stamp mill at Tamarack 
was completed in March. 1910. The boiler house, containing six boilers, and pump 
and power house, which has a 40,000.000-gallon pump engine and electric generator, 
were also completed earlv in 1910, the boilers, pumps, etc.. going into commission 
May 30, 1910. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and outstanding. $1,250,000; par, .$25; $17 paid in. 
The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns 24,200 of the 50,000 shares. Transfer agent: 
State Street Trust Co.. Boston. Registrar: American Trust Co.. Boston. Listed on 
Boston Stock Exchange. Dividends have been paid as follows: November 1. 1911. 
$2: 1912: January 20. S3: April 26, $4: July 22. $5: October 10. $6: 1913: January 10. 
$7; April 10, $7.' 



142 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 





Rock 
treated. 


Refined 

copper 

produced. 


Total cost 

per pound 

of refined 

copper. 


190S 


Tons. 
298,178 
406,045 
530, 365 
598, 549 
652,260 


Pounds. 
6, 280, 241 
9, 198, 110 
11,844,954 
15, 196, 127 
16,455,769 


Cents. 
12 66 


1909 


15, 48 


1910 


11.05 


1911 


7.17 


1912 


7.85 







Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Gross in- 
come. 



Expenses, 
construc- 
tion, etc. 



Net in- 
come. 



Real es- 
tate pur- 
chased. 



Interest 
paid. 



Dividends. 



Balance. 



1908 ! $857,649 

1909 ! 1,235,007 

1910 i 1,538,003 

1911 1,960,513 

1912 ! 2,757,577 



8795,364 
1,420,874 
1,295,616 
1,083,186 
1, 292, 180 



$62,285 

2 185, 867 

242,387 

877,327 

1,465,397 



$84,640 
10,350 



$2, 780 

13,067 

7,054 



$250,000 
1,100,000 



i $22, 355 
1198,997 
3 229,320 
s 620, 273 
3 365,397 



i Deficit. 



2 Loss. 



Surplus. 



Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash, accounts receivable at Boston, 
copper and silver unsold, $1,759,785; cash and accounts receivable at mine, $17,914; 
supplies and fuel at mine, $123,272; total, $1,900,972. Liabilities: Accounts payable 
at Boston, $37,413; accounts payable at mine, $134,350; dividend payable, January 10, 
1913, $350,000; total, $521,763. Balance of assets, $1,379,209. 

Officers. — R. L. Agassiz, president; Q. A. Shaw, vice president; G. A. Flagg, secretary 
and treasurer; C. H. Bissell, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; J. 
MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: F. L. Higginson, Q. A. 
Shaw, R. L. Agassiz, Thos. N. Perkins, Jas. MacNaughton, W. A. Hodgson, T. L. 
Ohadbourne, jr. 

Annual meeting, second Tuesday in June. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston. 

ALLOUEZ MINING CO. 

Incorporated originally in September, 1859; reincorporated in 1889 under laws of 
Michigan. Owns over 3,400 acres on the mineral range, mostly in Houghton and 
Keweenaw Counties, Mich., a large tract lying immediately to the north of the Kear- 
sarge branch of the Osceola mine, and carrying the Kearsarge lode. Company owns 
a one-half interest in the Lake Milling, Smelting & Refining Co. On December 31, 
1912, No. 1 shaft was 209 feet below the seventeenth level, a distance of 3,422 feet from 
the surface, and No. 2 shaft was 173 feet below the twenty-first level, 3,382 feet from 
the surface. No. 2 shaft began producing in 1910. 

Capital s tock. —Authorized and outstanding, $2,500,000; par, $25; paid in, $22.25. 
Registrar: Old Colony Trust Co., Boston. Transfer agent: American Trust Co., Boston. 
No bonds. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns 41,000 of the 100,000 shares. Stock 
traded in on the Boston Stock Exchange. 



Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 



Rock 

treated. 



1 90S 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 



Tons. 

220,905 

253,049 

247.119 

288.610 

333, G1S 



R efined 

copper 

produced. 



Pounds. 

3.047.051 

4.031.532 

4.(155.702 

4.780.494 

5,525,455 



Total cost 

per pound 

of refined 

copper. 



Cents. 

16. 81 
13. 39 
11.57 
13. 30 
13. 52 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



148 





Total 
receipts. 


Total 
expenses. 


Construc- 
tion and 
equipment 
at mine. 


Payment, 

stamp 
mill, etc. 


Construc- 
tion and 

real 
estate. 


Interest. 


Deficit 
for year. 


1905 


$195, 427 
542, 764 
406, 753 
557, 235 
668,455 
609, 858 
629, 229 
918, 436 


$118, 714 
450,533 
422,509 
450, 861 
394, 796 
521,345 
574,400 
641, 641 


$35, 517 

75, 879 

6,571 

84,846 

82, 630 








$19, 143 
13,065 


1909 






$13, 287 


1908 




$84,596 


22, 328 


1907 


$337, 741 




316, 214 

191,029 

171,096 

6,379 


1906 






1910 






17,417 
18,232 
17, 347 


1911 


42,976 
88, 184 






1912 






i 171, 264 











i Surplus. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash, accounts receivable at Bos- 
ton and unsold metal, $486,437; cash and accounts receivable at mine, $2,367; sup- 
plies at mine, $63,852; total, $552,656. Liabilities: Notes and accounts payable at 
Boston, $402,705; accounts payable at mine, $56,387; total, $459,091. Balance of 
assets, $93,564. 

Officers. — Quincy A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; G. A. Flaggy 
secretary and treasurer; G. G. Endicott, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, 
Boston, Mass.; Jas. MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: 
Quincy A. Shaw, H. F. Fay, G. A. Flagg, F. L. Higginson. W. 
Thos. N. Perkins, Westwood, Mass.; R. L. Agassiz, Newport, R. I. 
ton, Calumet, Mich. 

Annual meeting, second Wednesday in April. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 



L. Frost, Boston; 
; Jas. MacNaugh- 



CENTENNIAL COPPER MINING CO. 

Incorporated 1896, under laws of Michigan, as successor to Centennial Mining Co. 
Owns one half of the $500,000 capital stock of the Lake Milling, Smelting & Refining 
Co., the other half being owed by the Allouez Mining Co. Property comprises 640 
acres, being section 12, township'56, range 33 west; also a triangular patch of about 30 
acres bought to secure outcrop of the Kearsarge lode. The present management in 
1897 began work on the Osceola lode, but later discontinued in order to open up and 
develop the Kearsarge lode, which is the only lode now being operated on the prop- 
erty. On December 31 , 1912. No. 1 shaft was* 189 feet below the thirty-fourth level. 
3,821 feet from the surface; No. 2 shaft was 180 feet below the thirty-sixth level.. 
4,158 feet from the surface. 

Capital stock. — Authorized, 100,000 shares; par, $25; outstanding, 90,000 shares, on 
which $19.50 has beea paid in. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns 41,500 shares- 
Transfer agent: American Trust Co., Boston. Registrar: Old Colony Trust Co.. 
Boston. Listed on Boston Stock Exchange. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 





Rock 
treated. 


Refined 

copper 

produced. 


Total cost 

per pound 

of refined 

copper. 


1908 


Tons. 
169,693 
196,525 
102, 133 
86,543 
106,517 


Pounds. 

2,196,377 

2,583,793 

1,572,566 

1,493,834 

1,742,338 


Cents. 
18. 49 


1909 


15.61 


1910 


14.48 


1911 


12.69 


1912 


13.46 









144 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Balance, 
Jan. 1. 



$95, 951 
331, 780 
340,310 
129, 985 
18,260 
139,365 
1 60, 107 
154,061 



Sale of 
product. 



$230, 130 
439,516 
438,253 
294, 165 
343,051 
204, 778 
192,997 
285,066 



Other 
receipts. 



$353, 982 

11, 645 

235,598 

334 

2,602 

2,173 

2,560 

10 



Total 
receipts. 



$680, 062 
782,941 
1,014,161 
424, 484 
363,913 
167,586 
195,557 
285,076 



Mine and 

other 
expenses. 



$300,384 
366,965 
469,983 
389,952 
397,360 
222,281 
189,512 
234,563 



Construc- 
tion equip- 
ment, etc. 



$47, 899 

75, 666 

414, 193 

16,272 

5,918 

5,412 



Total 
payments. 



$348,283 
442, 631 
884, 176 
406,224 
403,278 
227, 693 
189,512 
234,563 



Surplus, 
Dec. 31. 



$331,780 
340,310 
129, 985 
18,260 
139,365 
i 60, 107 
154,061 
13,549 



i Deficit. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash and accounts receivable at 
Boston and copper unsold, $183,263; cash and accounts receivable at mine, $3,121; 
supplies at mine, $47,501; total, $233,886. Liabilities: Notes and accounts payable 
at Boston, $209,956; accounts payable at mine, $27,479; total, $237,435. Balance of 
liabilities, December 31, 1912, $3,549. 

Officers. — Quincy A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; Geo. A. Flagg, 
secretary and treasurer; Geo. G. Endicott, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, 
Boston; Jas. MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Quincy A. 
Shaw, R. L. Agassiz, H. F. Fay, Geo. A. Flagg, Jas. MacNaughton, F. L. Higginson. 

Annual meeting, first Tuesday in April. 

General office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston; mine office, Calumet, Mich. 

CLIFF MINING CO. 

Incorporated December, 1909, in Michigan, and acquired the Cliff lands of the 
Tamarack Mining Co., in Keweenaw County, Mich.; through these lands runs for a 
distance of about 11,000 feet the Kearsarge lode. The Tamarack Mining Co. con- 
veyed the Cliff lands, retaining, however, the timber thereon, and also placed in the 
treasury of the new company $100,000 cash; and received in exchange 60,000 of the 
authorized 100,000 shares. As of December 31, 1912, the Calumet & Hecla owned 
19,400 of the 60,000 outstanding shares of stock. 

A temporary shaft was started in August, 1910, and by December 31, 1911, it had 
reached a depth of 217 feet; no sinking was done in 1912. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $2,500,000; outstanding, $1,500,000, of which $780,000 
paid in, consisting of 60,000 shares of $25 each, on which $13 paid in. Transfer agent: 
American Trust Co., Boston. Registrar: State Street Trust Co., Boston. Traded in 
on unlisted department of Boston Stock Exchange. 

Expenses, year ended December 31, 1912. — Expended in exploration and develop- 
ment work, $14,796; miscellaneous expenses, $1,688; total, $16,484, less balance of 
interest receipts, $3,299; balance, $13,185; add balance of assets, December 31, 1911, 
$75,757; balance of assets, December 31, 1912, $62,572. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912.— Assets: Cash and accounts receivable in 
Boston, $58,428; cash and accounts receivable at mine, $4,646; supplies at mine, $544; 
total, $63,618. Liabilities: Accounts payable at mine, $1,046; balance of assets, 
December 31, 1912, $62,572. 

Officers. — R. L. Agassiz, president; Quincy A. Shaw, vice president; G. A. Flagg, 
secretary and treasurer; C. H. Bissel, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Bos- 
ton; James MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Rodolphe L. 
Agassiz, Francis W. Hunnewell, Francis L. Higginson, Quincy A. Shaw, Thomas N. 
Perkins, George A. Flagg, James MacNaughton. 

Annual meeting, first Wednesday in April. 

General offices, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 



GRATIOT MINING CO. 



Incorporated January 29, 1906, in Maine. Company was formed for the purpose of 
taking over 600 acres of land near the Mohawk mine. Shaft No. 1 had, on December 
31, 1911, been sunk to a depth of 1,971 feet and Shaft No. 2 to a depth of 1,521 feet. 
Owing to the low grade of rock and the condition of the copper market, together with 
the fact that there were no suitable milling facilities for a reasonably large produc- 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



145 



tion, the property was closed down on March 31, 1911; no active operations were con- 
ducted during 1912. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued, $300,000; par, $3. Fully paid and non- 
assessable. A majority (50,100 shares) is owned by Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 

Earnings and expenses, year ended December 31, 1912. — Receipts from sales of machin- 
ery, etc., $8,585; expenses and interest, $21,555; excess of expenses over receipts, 
$12,970; balance of liabilities. December 31, 1911, $345,541; balance of liabilities, 
December 31, 1912, $358,511. 

Assets and liabilities December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash at Boston, $598; cash and 
accounts receivable at mine, $8,702; supplies on hand at mine, $639; total, $9,939. 
Liabilities: Accounts payable at Boston, $368,300; accounts payable at mine, $149; 
total, $368,449; balance of liabilities, $358,511. 

Officers. — Quincy A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; G. A. Flagg, 
secretary and treasurer, Boston, Mass.; James MacNaughton, general manager, Calu- 
met, Mich. Directors: Q. A. Shaw, F. L. Higginson, Boston, Mass.; R. L. Agassiz, 
Newport, R. I.; J. MacNaughton, Calumet, Mich.; G. A. Flagg, Holliston, Mass. 

Annual meeting, first Thursday after third Wednesday in August, at Portland, Me. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston; mine office, Calumet, Mich. 

ISLE ROYALE COPPER CO. 

Incorporated March 14, 1899, in New Jersey, as a consolidation of the Isle Royale 
Consolidated Mining Co. and the Miners' Copper Co. The present company began 
operations on April 20, 1899, with all the property and cash assets of the old Isle Royale 
Consolidated Mining Co., increased by 1,400 acres of new mining property and 
$1,000,000 in cash from the Miners' Copper Co. In all the company owns about 
2,800 acres of valuable copper mining land in Houghton County, Mich. In 1907 
purchased for $220,000 the Hussey Howe tract of 240 acres adjoining and northeast of 
the Superior property, controlled by Calumet & Hecla. This tract is surrounded by 
Isle Royale lands, and is supposed to carry the Baltic lode. Development work on 
the properties was begun in August, 1896. On December 31, 1912, No. 2 shaft was 
84 feet below twenty-ninth level and 3,162 feet from surface, No. 4 was 5.5 feet be- 
low fifteenth level and 1,939 f ?et from surface, No. 5 was 47.5 feet below ninth level 
and 1,206 feet from surface, No. 6 was 4.5 feet below thirteenth level and 1,553 feet 
from surface, "A" shaft was 18 feet below fifth level and 972 feet from surface. In 
September, 1912, ground was broken for No. 7 shaft. 

The Isle Royale Railroad, owned by the company, connects the mine and mill 
with about 5 miles of main line and has a junction with the Duluth, South Shore & 
Atlantic Railway. Equipment includes three locomotives and forty 40-ton steel 
rock cars. The stamp mill is situated at the mouth of Pilgrim River, the mill site 
having nearly 1 mile of frontage on Portage Lake. The mill has three heads, each 
with recrushing rolls, the single head having a daily capacity of 500 tons, and the two 
compound heads a daily capacity of 750 tons each. Power for the mill is furnished 
by a 750-horsepower engine, taking steam from four 250-horsepower boilers in a 46 by 
72 feet boiler house at the rear of the mill. There is a 32 by 600 feet wharf, with 
deep water, at the mill site. Water is furnished the mill by a 16,000,000-gallon pump 
discharging into a 32-foot steel water main running 2,200 feet from pump house to 
mill. Three 100-horsepower boilers furnish pumping power. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and outstanding, $3,750,000; par $25. Transfer agent: 
Old Colony Trust Co., Boston, Mass. Registrar: State Street Trust Co., Boston, Mass. 
No bonds. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns $762, .500 of the stock. Initial 
dividend of $1 per share paid March 31, 1913. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 





Rock 
treated. 


Refined 

copper 

produced. 


Total cost 

per pound 

of refined 

copper. 


1908 


Tons. 

218,940 
401, 280 
520, 860 
457,440 
531, 105 


Pounds. 

3,011,664 

5,719,056 

7,567,399 

7,490,120 

8, 186, 957 


Cents. 
28.99 


1909 


16.64 


1910 


11.84 


1911 


10.85 


1912 ; 


11.89 







27603— S. Doc. 381, 62-3- 



-10 



146 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Income account, years ended Dec. SI. 



190(3. 
1907. 
1908. 
1909. 
1910. 
1911. 



1912 i 1. 395. G37 



Gross 


Expenses, 


receipts. 


etc. 


8588, 340 


s 131,372 


492. 224 


763. G59 


427,364 


878, 575 


790. 528 


951,519 


988, 233 


895, 920 


969, 365 


812. 657 


1.395,637 


975. 870 



Net 
profits. 



S156. 968 

i 271 ; 435 

i 451. 211 

1 160, 991 

92, 313 

156, 708 

419.7(17 



i Deficit. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31. 1912.- — Assets: Cash, accounts receivable at 
Boston, copper and silver unsold, $587,564; cash and accounts receivable at mine, 
$13,708; supplies and fuel at mine, $103,385; Lake Superor Smelting Co. stock, 
$32,000; total, $736,657. Liabilities: Notes and accounts payable at Boston, $72,914; 
accounts payable at mine, $106,000; total, $178,914. Balance of assets, December 31, 
1912, $557,743. 

Officers. — Rodolphe L. Agassiz, president; Q. A. Shaw, vice president; G. A. Flagg, 
secretary and treasurer; Clarence H. Bissell, assistant secretary and assistant treas- 
urer, Boston; James MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: 
Q. A. Shaw, R. L. Agassiz, C. N. King, F. L. Higginson, W. E. L. Dillaway. C. O. 
Whitten, F. L. Whitcomb. 

Annual meeting, first Wednesday in April at Jersey City, N. J. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 

LA SALLE COPPER CO. 

Incorporated December, 1906, in Michigan, to take over control of the properties 
of Tecumseh Copper Co., the La Salle and Caldwell companies (under option to 
Calumet & Hecla), and certain lands contributed by the Calumet & Hecla and the 
Sheldon estate. The charter of the Tecumseh Copper Co. expired on February 3, 
1910, and on May 11, 1910, the La Salle Copper Co. purchased the entire property 
of that company. Prior to this purchase La Salle owned all but 159 shares of the 
Tecumseh stock. The properties comprise the Douglas and Sheldon estates, 400 
acres; La Salle (association), 840 acres; Tecumseh, 560 acres; Caldwell, "560 acres; 
total, 2,460 acres. The company's present mineral expectations are confined to the 
Kearsarge lode, which has been demonstrated both by diamond drill and by shafts. 
The policy is to concentrate work in developing the properties and in blocking out 
ore. On December 31, 1912, No. 1 shaft was 38 feet below twentieth level and 2,146 
feet from surface, No. 2 was 49 feet below seventeenth level and 1,770 feet from 
surface, No. 5 was 128 feet below tenth level and 1,450 feet from surface, and No. 6 
was 7 feet below seventh level and 882 feet from surface. Refined copper produced 
in 1910, 633,778 pounds; in 1911, 280,598 pounds; no production in 1912. With 
the higher prices for copper obtaining, it was planned to resume operations in June, 
1912, but it was impossible to secure a sufficient working force until November. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $10,000,000; outstanding, $7,574,425; par, $25. The 
Calumet & Hecla Co. contributed $1,000,000 cash to the treasury and agreed to loan 
the company $750,000 additional if necessary in return for which, and its contribution 
of 240 acres to the property, it received 161,750 shares of the 302,977 shares issued. 
As of December 31, 1912, Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owned 152,977 shares of the stock. 
Transfer agent: Old Colony Trust Co., Boston. Registrar: State Street Trust Co., 
Boston. Listed on Boston Stock Exchange. 

Receipts and expenses, year ended December 31, 1912. — -Interest and miscellaneous 
receipts, $10,244; expenses at mine, $19,998; expenses at eastern office, etc., $6,434; 
construction at mine, $4,037; deficit, $21,124. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash and accounts receivable at 
mine, $6,085; cash and accounts receivable at Boston, $239,400; supplies on hand, 
$646; total, $246,131. Liabilities: Accounts payable at mine, $5,472. Balance of 
assets, December 31, 1912, $240,660. 

Officers— Q. A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; G. A. Flagg, 
secretary and treasurer; W.C. Smith, assistant treasurer, Boston; James MacNaughton, 
general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Q. A. Shaw, F. L. Higginson, Walter 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 147 

Hunnewell. Boston; R. L. Agassiz, Newport, R. I.; G. A. Flagg, Holliston, Mass.; 
James MacNaughton, Calumet. Mich.; T. N. Perkins, Westwood, Mass. 

Annual meeting, second Wednesday in June. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass.; mine office, Calumet, Mich. 

LAURIUM MINING CO. 

Incorporated in Michigan. Lands comprise 325 acres of surface rights, with mineral 
rights to 575 acres, lying east of Calumet & Hecla Mine. On December 31, 1912, shaft 
No. 1 was 32 feet below fourteenth level and 1,444 feet from the surface. A new hoist, 
capable of working to a depth of 2,100 feet, and a larger compressor have been installed 
in place of the old equipment. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued, $1,000,000; par, $25. The Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co. owns $938,750 of the stock. 

Receipts and expenses, year ended December 31, 1912. — Interest received, $1,843; ex- 
penses at mine, $44,507; eastern office, $1,722; construction at mine, $5,681; excess 
of expenses, $50,067. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Cash, accounts receivable, and supplies, 
$22,187; accounts payable, $3,722. Balance of assets, $18,465. 

Officers. — Q. A. Shaw, president: R. L. Agassiz, vice president: G. A. Flagg, secre- 
tary and treasurer; G. G. Endicott. assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; 
James MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Q. A. Shaw, F. L. 
Higginson, G. A. Flagg, Boston; R. L. Agassiz, Newport, R. I.; James MacNaughton, 
Calumet, Mich. 

Annual meeting, second Tuesday in June. 

General office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass.; mine office, Houghton, Mich. 

OSCEOLA CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

Incorporated in 1873, in Michigan, to acquire a copper mining property at Hancock. 
Houghton County, Mich., bordering on the famous Calumet & Hecla mines. Com- 
pany was consolidated with the Opechee Mining Co. in 1879, and in 1897 purchased 
the Kearsarge Mining Co., this purchase carrying with it the control of the Iroquois 
Copper Co. and the Tamarack Junior Mining Co. Over 35 miles of underground work 
has been done. Lands. 2,120 acres, in four separate tracts: also an extensive mill site 
in Houghton County. Mich., And considerable holdings of timber and miscellaneous 
lands in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, Mich. Property includes four mines, 
or "branches," known as the Osceola, North Kearsarge, South Kearsarge, and Tama- 
rack Junior; the latter being idle. 

The two stamp mills, completed in 1899 and 1902, respectively, adjoin those of the 
Tamarack, on the shore of Torch Lake. The original mill, built in 1886, was torn 
down in 1905. The boiler house, adjoining the mills and furnishing power for both, 
has three 250-horsepower boilers, delivering steam at 150 pounds pressure, and nine 
250-horsepower boilers, operated under 105 pounds pressure. Rock is transported 
from the various mines to the mills by the Hancock & Calumet Railroad, a branch of 
the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway. 

During 1912 all the real and personal property of the Hancock Chemical Co. and the 
Tamarack-Osceola Copper Manufacturing Co. was sold and the Osceola Consolidated 
Mining Co. received net for its stock holdings $46,667. 

Total depth of shafts, December 31, 1912: Osceola branch — No. 5, 110 feet below 
forty-sixth level, 4,623 feet from surface; No. 6, 99 feet below forty-sixth level, 4,592 
feet from surface. South Kearsarge branch — No. 1, 20 feet below twenty-third level, 
2,820 feet from surface; No. 2, 22 feet below sixteenth level, 1,992 feet from surface. 
North Kearsarge branch — No. 1, 190 feet below thirty-fourth level, 3,873 feet from 
surface; No. 3, 161 feet below thirty-first level, 3,251 feet from surface; No. 4, 187 
feet below fifteenth level, 1,449 feet from surface. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $2,500,000; outstanding, $2,403,750; the balance, $96,250. 
being held in the company's treasury; par, $25. Transfer agent: American Trust Co.. 
Boston. Registrar: State Street Trust Co., Boston. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. 
owns 32,750 shares of the 96, 150 shares of stock outstanding. Dividends in 1899, 1900. 
and 1901, $6 per share each: 1902 and 1903, none; 1904, $2 per share; 1905, $4; 1906^ 
$10; 1907, $13; 1908, $2; 1909.18; 1910. $10; 1911, $7.50; 1912, $12.50; January 31. 
1913, $3; payments semiannually. January and July. Total dividends paid from 1878 
to and including January 31, 1913, $11,170,100. Listed on Boston Stock Exchange. 



148 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Production, etc. , years ended Dec. 31 . 





Rock 
treated. 


Refined 
copper 

produced. 


Total cost 

of refined 

copper per 

pound. 


1908 


Tons. 
1,241,400 
1,494,845 


Pounds. 
21,250,794 
2.Y 296 657 


Cents. 
10.25 


1909.-. 


9.47 


1910 


1,217,720 19,346,566 
1,246,596 | 18,388,193 
1,246.557 1 18.413.387 


9.37 


1911 


9.28 


1912 


10.36 











Earnings, expenses, and income account, year ended Dec. 31. 





Gross 


Operating 


Net 


Con- 


Dividends. 


Surplus 


Previous 


Total 




earnings. 


expenses. 


earnings. 


struction. 


for year. 


surplus. 


surplus. 


1905.. 


$2,961,971 


$1,815,119 


$1,146,251 


?207,505 


$576, 900 


$361,846 


$505,929 


$867, 775 


1906.. 


3,646,811 


1,868,140 


1,778,671 


155, 482 


1,153,800 


469,389 


867, 775 


1,337,164 


1907.. 


2,481,306 


1,674,177 


807, 129 


84,374 


673,050 


49, 705 


1,337,164 


1,386,869 


1908.. 


2,914,544 


2,091,823 


822, 721 


145,615 


576, 900 


100,205 


1,386,869 


1,487,074 


1909.. 


3,465,857 


2,285,401 


1,180,456 


109, 810 


961,500 


109,146 


1,487,074 


1,596,219 


1910.. 


2,571,865 


1,746,340 


825, 525 


66, 939 


769,200 


i 10,614 


1,851,220 


1,840,606 


1911.. 


2,371,373 


1,615,780 


755, 593 


90,965 


673,050 


18,422 


1,840,606 


1,832,183 


1912.. 


3,118,604 


1,734,199 


1,384,405 


174,331 


1,153,800 


56, 274 


1,832,184 


1,888,458 



i Deficit. 
Assets and liabilities, Dec. 31. 



Assets. 


1912 


1911 


Liabilities. 


1912 


1911 


Cash accounts receivable 
at Boston and unsold 
metal 


$1,775,509 

12,740 

250,063 

37,309 

341, 100 

60,000 


$1,740,832 

15,527 

239,886 

37,309 

341,100 

60,000 


Accounts payable at mines. 
Accounts payable at Bos- 
ton 


$265,543 

34,270 

288,450 
1,888,458 


$243,635 

22,311 

336,525 
1,832,184 


Cash and accounts receiv- 


Dividends payable in Jan- 






Wood and timber lands . . . 
Mineral Range Railroad 


Total 


Lake Superior Smelting 








Total 


2,476,721 


2,434,654 


2,476,721 


2,434,654 







Officers.— ~R. L. Agassiz, president; Q. A. Shaw, vice president; G. A. Flagg, secre- 
tary and treasurer; C. H. Bissell, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; 
James MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: F. L. Higginson, 
Q. A. Shaw, R. L. Agassiz, James MacNaughton, William H. Dwelly, jr., Guy W. 
Currier, Thomas N. Perkins. 

Annual meeting, second Thursday in March. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 

SENECA MINING CO. 

Incorporated March 23, 1860, in Michigan. Lands, originally 3,240 acres, were 
reduced by 1,880 acres, transferred to the Ahmeek Co. The remaining tract is located 
just north of the Mohawk and Ahmeek mines, and carries the Calumet, Kearsarge, and 
Allouez conglomerates, and the Osceola and Kearsarge amygdaloidal beds. No 
development work was done during 1912. 

Capital stock.— Authorized and issued, $500,000; paid in, $201,000; par, $25, of which 
$10.05 is paid in. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns 11,207 shares of the stock. 

Expenditures, year ended December 31 , 1912. — Mine expenses, $2,032; mine taxes, $657; 
eastern expenses, $1,844; interest, $5,675; total, $10,208. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



149 



Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash at Boston, etc., $876; supplies 
at mine, $1,021; total, $1,897. Liabilities: Notes and accounts payable at Boston, 
$140,721; accounts payable at mine, $3,496; total, $144,216. Balance of liabilities. 
December 31, 1912, $142,319. 

Officers. — R. L. Agassiz, president; G. A. Flagg, secretary and treasurer; A. Garceau, 
assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; James MacNaughton, general mana- 
ger, Calumet, Mich. Directors: R. L. Agassiz, Newport, R. I.; G. A. Flagg. Hollis- 
ton, Mass.; F. L. Higginson, Boston; James MacNaughton. Calumet, Mich.; T. L. Chad- 
bourne, jr.. New York. 

Annual meeting, fourth Monday in March. 

General office. 12 Ashburton Place, Boston. Mass.; mine office. Ahmeek, Mich. 

SUPERIOR COPPER CO. 

Incorporated July 22, 1904, in Michigan. Lands. 450 acres, between the Baltic and 
Isle Royale mines. Company has a two-year lease on two tracts of the Atlantic mill, 
giving a stamping capacity of about 700 tons daily. In order to ship rock to the Lake 
Milling Co. 's stamp mill at Point Mills, a line of railroad has been built to connect No. 1 
shaft with the Isle Royale Railroad. On December 31, 1912, shaft No. 1 was 254 feet 
below 18th level and 2,014 feet from surface; No. 2 shaft was 41 feet below 14th level 
and 1,341 feet from surface. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued $2. 500,000; par. $25. The Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co. owns $1,252,500 of the stock. Transfer agent: American Trust Co., Boston. 
Registrar: Old Colony Trust Co., Boston. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. SI. 



1910 
1911 
1912 



Rock 
treated. 



Tons. 
962 
81,641 
140,514 
162.599 
172,322 



Refined 

copper 

produced. 



Pou nds. 

21,244 
1,789,315 
3,181,041 
3,236,233 
3,921,974 



Total cost 

per pound 

of refined 

copper. 



Cents. 

0) 

(1> 14.29 
15.31 
12. 75 



1 Not reported. 
Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Gross 

value of 

fine copper. 



Silver 
sales and 

miscel- 
laneous. 



Total. 



Expenses. I Co ^ UC ' j Interest. 



Balance. 



1911. 
1912. 



. 1411,267 
J 646,771 



$19,617 
26,261 



$430, 884 
673,032 



$453,972 
478,395 



$28,901 
12,165 



$12,527 



1 $65,516 
«172.873 



i Deficit. 



Surplus. 



Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash, accounts receivable at 
Boston and copper and silver unsold, $290,868; cash and accounts receivable at mine, 
$10,188; supplies, $8,505; total, $309,561. Liabilities: Accounts payable at Boston, 
$184,565; accounts payable at mine, $25,212; total, $209,777. Balance of assets, 
December 31, 1912, $99,784. 

Officers. — Q. A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; G. A. Flagg, sec- 
retary and treasurer; A.J. Garceau, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; 
James MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Q. A. Shaw, Bos- 
ten; R. L. Agassiz, Newport, R. I.; James MacNaughton, Calumet, Mich.; G. A. 
Flagg, Holliston, Mass.; F. L. Higginson, Boston. 

Annual meeting, second Tuesday in June. 

General office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston; mine office, Calumet, Mich. 



150 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



TAMARACK MINING CO. 

Incorporated in 1882 in Michigan. Company owns over 1,110 acres in Keweenaw 
County, Mich., with about 7,000 additional acres of timber and other lands. The 
mine adjoins the Calumet & Hecla on all sides. It has been operated for a great many 
years and extensive development work has been done. The mine is opened by 
five shafts. The No. 1 shaft is 109 feet below the nineteenth level and 3,409 feet from 
the surface; Xo. 2 shaft is 23 feet below the thirtieth level and 4,355 feet from the 
surface; No. 3 shaft is 29.5 feet below the eighteenth level and 5,253 feet from the 
surface; No. 3 shaft (inclined) is 113 feet below the twenty-first level and 406 feet 
below the eighteenth level; No. 4 shaft is 4,450 feet from the surface; and No. 5 shaft 
is 147 feet below the fortieth level and 5,308.5 feet from the surface. 

Company has two stamp mills on Torch Lake, with a combined daily capacity of 
3,500 tons of conglomerate rock. Mill No. 1 has five heads, three of which are com- 
pounded; the boiler house has four 200-horsepower boilers. Mill No. 2 has two 
stamps, and the boiler house has seven 200-horsepower boilers. The pump house, 
owned jointly with the Osceola Co., has two 40,000,000-gallon pumps and one 15,000,000 
gallon pump. 

Late in 1909 the Tamarack Co. sold its Cliff lands to the Cliff Mining Co. on terms 
shown in Manual for 1912, page 3960. 

During 1912 all the real and personal property of the Hancock Chemical Co. and 
the Tamarack-Osceola Copper Manufacturing Co. was sold, and the Tamarack Mining 
Co. received net for its stock holdings S14.332. 

Production, etc., years ended Dec. 31. 



Refined 



Total cost 



Rock fonner nro ' per P ound 
treated. C °^ r e J 10 , of refined 
aucea - : copper. 



Tons. Pound*. Cents. 

190S 654,897 12,806,127 ' 15.24 

1909 - 689, 099 13, 553. 207 14. 30 

1910 525.554 11.063.606 ; 14.70 

1911 392. 338 7. 494. 077 15. 56 

1912 ; 421. 3S5 7.908.745 13.15 



Income account, years ended Dec. SI, 





Total 
receipts. 


Total 
expenses. 


Gross 
profit. 


Dividends. 


New con- 
struction. 


Balance. 


1906 


$1,917,232 
1,835,970 
1,716,974 
1,906,878 

6 2,230,017 

957, 916 

1,309,807 


$1,413,084 
1, 751, 835 
1, 870, 191 
1,890,810 
1,563,717 

( 1,146,876 
1, 040, 194 


i $504, 148 
i 84, 135 
< 153,217 
116,068 
i 666, 300 
*188,960 
269,613 


2 $300, 000 
3 240, 000 


$90,518 
93,410 

s 82, 389 ' 

44,613 

62, 667 

4,239 


i$113,630 


1907.. 


* 249, 277 


1908 


* 235, 606 


1909... 




* 28, 546 


1910 




i 603, 633 


1911 




* 193, 199 


1912 




i 269, 613 











1 Surplus. 

2 20 per cent. 
3 16 per cent. 
* Deficit. 

5 Includes S49,538 for cliff exploration. 

6 Includes §770,315 received from sale of cliff lands, timberlands, and other income, and $25,000 Lake Supe- 
rior Smelting Co. dividend. 



Capital stock.— Authorized and issued, $1,500,000; par, §25. Transfer agent: Old 
Colony Trust Co., Boston. Registrar: State Street Trust Co., Boston. Total divi- 
dends' paid to and including July. 1907, §9,420,000:' none since. The Calumet & 
Hecla Mining Co. owns §485,000 of the stock. Listed on Boston Stock Exchange. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Assets and liabilities, Dec. 31. 



151 



Assets. 


1912 


1911 


Liabilities. 


1912 


1911 


Cash and accounts receiv- 
able and copper unsold . . 
Supplies and fuel at mine.. 
Wood and timber lands . . . 
Hancock and Calumet 


$541,289 
210,567 
184, 596 

99.000 

364, 700 

100. 000 


$491,748 
234, 949 
171.766 

99, 000 

364, 700 

100,000 


Notes and accounts pay- 
able 


$379. 290 
1.120.862 


$610, 914 
851,249 


Total 




Mineral Range railroad 




Lake Superior Smelting 
Co. stock 








Total 


1, 500, 152 


1.462.163 


1,500.152 


1,462,163 









Officers. — R. L. Agassiz, president; Q. A. Shaw, vice president; G. A. Flagg, secre- 
tary and treasurer; C. H. Bissell, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, Boston; 
Jas. MacNaughton, general manager, Calumet, Mich.: Directors: R. L. Agassiz, 
Q. A. Shaw, Jas. MacNaughton, F. L. Higginson, F. L. Whitcomb, R. S. Bradley, 
Edwin C. Lewis. 

Annual meeting, first Wednesday in April. 

Office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 



WHITE PINE COPPER CO. 

Incorporated in 1909, in Michigan, to develop 4,739 T V acres of lands which carry 
the Nonesuch lode, conveyed to the company by the Keweenaw Association and 
others. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., having expended $100,000 on the property, 
received 43,202 shares of White Pine common stock, and in return for further sums 
advanced for development and equipment is entitled to receive preferred stock at 
par. Up to December 31, 1912, the Calumet & Hecla Co. had received 6,092 shares 
of preferred stock, being the entire amount issued. On December 31, 1912, No. 1 
temporary shaft was 67 feet below the first level and 213 feet from the surface; No. 2 
temporary shaft was 4 feet below the first level and 135 feet from the surface. 

Capital stock. — Authorized, $3,750,000 common and $1,250,000 5 per cent cumu- 
lative preferred; outstanding, December 31, 1912, $2,133,000 common and $152,300 
preferred; par $25. The Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. owns $1,080,050 common and 
all the preferred. The preferred stock is issued from time to time to provide funds 
for development, etc., and is to be retired out of earnings before dividends are paid 
on the common. 

Receipts and expenses, year ended December 31, 1912. — Sales of 2,221 shares of preferred 
stock at par, $55,525; interest, $2; total, $55,527. Deduct: Running expenses at mine, 
$48,159; construction at mine, $8,504; taxes, $1,000; eastern office, $1,037; timber 
purchased, $321; total, $59,021. Excess of expenses, $3,494. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912. — Assets: Cash, $684; supplies at mine, 
$2,413; total, $3,097. Liabilities: Accounts payable at Boston, $15,400; accounts 
pavable at mine, $4,398; total, $19,798. Balance of liabilities, December 31, 1912, 
$16,701. 

Officers. — A. Shaw, president; R. L. Agassiz, vice president; G. A. Flagg, secretary 
and treasurer; G. G. Endicott, assistant treasurer, Boston; Jas. MacNaughton, gen- 
eral manager, Calumet, Mich. Directors: Q. A. Shaw, R. L. Agassiz, D. S. Dean, 
F. L. Higginson, F. W. HunneweU, G. A. Flagg, Jas. MacNaughton. 

Annual meeting, first Tuesday in April. 

General office, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston. 



Copper Range Consolidated Co. 

Incorporated December 2, 1901, under laws of New Jersey, as a securities holding 
corporation. The company's assets consist principally of securities owned in sub- 
sidiary companies, through which the Copper Range Consolidated Co. is the second 
largest copper producer of the Lake Superior district. Its production includes the 
total output of the Baltic and Trimountain mines and one-half the output of the 
Champion mine, the other one-half belonging to the St. Mary's Mineral Land Co., 
which is the joint owner, with the Copper Range Consolidated Co., of the shares of the 
Champion Copper Co. The company owns and controls all the stock of the Copper 
Range Railroad Co. Company owned as of January 1, 1913, 99,659 of the 100,000 



152 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



sharesof outstanding stock of the Baltic Mining Co.; 99,699 of the 100,000 shares of the 
Copper Range Co. ; 99,345 of the 100,000 shares of the Trimountain Mining Co. ; 16,392 
of the 42,443 shares (the remaining 26,051 shares being owned by the Copper Range 
Co.) of the stock of the Copper Range Railroad Co. ; and 93,470 of the 100,000 shares of 
the Atlantic Mining Co. In addition the Copper Range Consolidated Co. owns 
$870,000 face value of bonds of the Copper Range Railroad. Through the Copper 
Range Co., the Copper Range Consolidated Co. controls $1,250,000 (one-half) of the 
stock of the Champion Copper Co., and through the Baltic and Trimountain companies 
controls $190,000 of the stock of the Michigan Smelting Co., the former owning $80,000 
and the latter $110,000 of the Smelting Co.'s stock. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $40,000,000; outstanding, $39,369,200; par, $100. 
Dividends have been paid (quarterly. January 1) as follows: 1905, 3 per cent; 1906, 
5 per cent; 1907, 8 per cent; 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911, 4 per cent each; 1912, 2 per 
cent; January, April,- and July, 1913, f per cent each. Total dividends paid to 
December 31, 1912, $12,902,249. No bonds. 

Combined production of operating companies, years ended Dec. 31. 



Tons of rock stamped 

Average yield refined copper 

Copper produced pounds. 

Average price per pound cents. 

Average cost per pound do. . . 



1911 



1,779,072 

20.87 

37,130,292 

12.54 

9.74 



1912 



1,784,402 

21.07 

37,584,647 

16.16 

10.51 



Consolidated statement of operating companies, years ended Dec. 31, 





1911 


1912 




$4, 655, 647 
3,447,100 


$6, 084, 202 




3,661,837 






Houghton Co. , taxes ... 


1,208,547 
163,373 


2,422,364 
164,157 






Total income from mining 


1,045,174 
53,532 


2,258,207 


Other income 


144, 160 






Net income 


1,098,706 
66,851 

227, 294 


2.402,367 
83,992 

625, 810 


Deduct interest, taxes, and general expenses of Copper Range Consolidated Co.. 

Deduct one-half of net mining profit of Champion Copper Co., which belongs to 

the St. Mary's Mineral Land Co 






Balance of net income 


804,561 


1,692,566 







Receipts and disbursements, year ended Dec. 31, 1912. 



Receipts. 



Amount. 



Disbursements. 



Amount. 



Balance, previous year 

Baltic Co. dividends 

Trimountain Co. dividends 

Copper Range Co. dividends 

Received from various companies 

Dividend received in capital stock 
issued, but which remains unex- 
changed 

Notes payable 

Total 



$315,552 
697,613 
298,065 
448, 646 
488,282 



3, 267 
43,846 



2,295,271 



Michigan Smelting Co 

Taxes 

Interest 

Other expenses 

Dividends 

Notes payable 

Accounts receivable. . 
Cash on hand Dec. 31 . 

Total 



$39,955 

7,771 

39,085 

37, 136 

788,429 

925,000 

2,397 

455, 499 



2,295,271 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

General balance sheet, Dec. 31. 



15a 



Treasury stock • 

Stocks owned *- 

Copper Range R. R. Co.: 

Bonds at par 

Stock at par 

Notes receivable 

Accounts receivable 

Copper Range electric plant . 

General exploration 

Cash 



Total. 



LIABILITIES. 



Capital stock 

Notes payable 

United Metals Selling Co 

Deposits: 

Trimountain Mining Co. 

Copper Range Co 

Atlantic Mining Co 

Michigan Smelting Co . . 

Copper Range R. R. Co. 

Stock suspense 

Accounts payable 

Surplus 



Total. 



1911 



$79, 100 
865, 400 

870,000 
639,200 
260,411 
6,000 
74, 186 
672,331 
315,874 



41,782,502 



,344,500 
,025,000 
300,000 

21,442 
25,206 



1912 



$79, 1(H> 
37,890,100 

870,000 

1,639,20ft 

183, 787 

8, 396 

68, 823 

672, 331 

455,499 



41,867,236 



30, 806 



18, 183 
17,365 



39,369,20ft 

1,100,00ft 

500, 000 

50, 214 
125,317 
47,20ft 

20,677 

63 

62, 03ft 

592, 535 



41,782,502 41,867,236 



1 791 shares of Copper Range Consolidated Co. held by the treasurer for exchange for the outstanding 
shares of the Baltic Mining Co. and the Copper Range Co. 

2 Consists of 99,659 shares of the Baltic Mining Co., 99,699 shares of the Copper Range Co., 99,345 shares 
of the Trimountain Mining Co., and 93,470 shares of Atlantic Mining Co. 

Officers.— Wm. A. Paine, president; R. T. McKeever, vice president, Boston; F. VY. 
Denton, vice president, Painesdale, Mich.; Frederic Stanwood, secretary and treas- 
urer, Boston. 

Directors. — The foregoing and J. H. Brooks; Charles J. Paine, jr., Boston; S. L. 
Smith, Detroit; F. McM. Stanton, New York; J. R. Turner, Jersey City. 

Companies Controlled by Copper Range Consolidated Co. 

atlantic mining co. 

Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated July 18, 1872, in Michigan. Owns 
extensive copper mining and milling property in Houghton Countv, Mich. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $2,500,000, of which 11,180,000 has been paid in; par. 
$25; paid in, $11.80. Practically all owned by Copper Range Consolidated Co. 

Receipts and expenditures, year ended December 31, 1912. — Rents, custom work, etc., 
at mine, $121,250; other income, $10,592; total, $131,842. Deduct: Operating expen- 
ses, $81,362; taxes, insurance, etc., $9,374; total, $90,736. Surplus for year, £41,106;. 
surplus forward, $174,826; total surplus, $215,932. 

General balance sheet, December 31, 1912. — Indebtedness at mine, $325; accounts 
payable, $163; surplus, $215,932; total, $216,420. Contra: Cash in Boston, $68,497; 
Michigan Smelting Co. stock, $40,000; cash and supplies at mine, $106,384; mer- 
chandise invoices at mine audited for payment, $838; copper delivered, not paid for. 
$701; total, $216,420. 

Officers. — W. A. Paine, president; Frederic Stanwood, secretary and treasurer, 
Boston. 

Directors. — The foregoing and F. P. Son, J. H. Blodgett, Boston; Samuel L. Smith- 
Detroit; J. R. Stanton, J. W. Hardley, New York. 

BALTIC MINING CO. 



Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated in December, 1897. in Michigan 
Pioperty, 800 acres in the Keweenaw copper belt, Houghton County, Mich. Then 
are five shafts, numbered from south to north. Three" shafts are producing, these 
being Nos. 2, 3, and 4 shafts, with a total depth of 2.257 feet, 2,526 feet, and 2,457 



154 



MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTRICT STRIKE. 



feet, respectively, and bottom levels of the twenty-second, twenty-sixth, and twenty- 
fifth, respectively. No. 1 shaft was abandoned at a depth of 219 feet. Production 
was begun in August, 1899. During 1912, 464 feet of shaft sinking, 10,547 feet of drift- 
ing, 679 feet of crosscutting, and 1,772 feet of raising was accomplished. Equipment 
consists of a compressor plant; boiler plant, with four 250-horsepowei boilers; a 360- 
foot coal trestle of 5,000 tons capacity; electric light plant, machine shop, etc., and 
more than 100 dwellings; also a stamp mill at Redridge, on Lake Superior, with a 
capacity of 5,000 tons daily. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued, $2,500,000, of which $2,491,475 is owned by 
the Copper Range Consolidated Co.; par, $25. Dividends in recent years have been 
paid as follows: 1905, 69.4 per cent; 1906, 77.7 per cent; 1907, 55.5 per cent; 1908, 
50 per cent; 1909 and 1910, 55.5 per cent each; 1911, 20 per cent; 1912, 28 per cent. 

Statement of production, years ended Dec. 31. 




1912 



Tons of rock hoisted 

Tons of rock stamped 

Copper produced, pounds 

Pounds of copper per ton stamped 



705,281 

652, 433 

13,373,961 

20.50 



Receipts and disbursements, years ended Dec. 31. 



Sales of copper, etc 

Operating expenses and taxes 

Mining profit 

Surplus for year 

Previous surplus 

Dividends 

Balance surplus 



$1,927,036 
1, 396, 821 
530, 215 
530,215 
278, 497 
500,000 
308, 712 



$2, 165, 350 
1,467,957 
697,393 
697, 393 
308, 713 
700,000 
306, 106 



General balance sheet. — Copper Range Consolidated Co., $174,638; indebtedness at 
mine, $97,138; mine drafts in transit, $91,277; accounts payable, $7,527; surplus, 
$306,106; total, S676,686. Contra: Cash in Boston, $4,455; copper on hand, $295,836; 
United Metals Selling Co. copper delivered and not paid for, $166,636; Michigan 
Smelting Co. stock, $80,000; cash and supplies at mine, $126,590; accounts receivable, 
$2,980; insurance suspense, $187; total, $676,686. 

Officers. — William A. Paine, president; Frederic Stan wood, secretary and treasurer, 
Boston. Directors: William A. Paine, J. H. Brooks, R. T. McKeever, Thomas S. Dee, 
Boston: S. L. Smith, Detroit. 

CHA.MPION COPPER CO. 



Controlled by stock ownership jointly with St. Marx's Mineral Land Co. Incor- 
porated October 14, 1899, in Michigan. Propertv, 1,240 acres near Copper Range and 
Trimountain, Houghton, Mich. Total depth of" shafts: Shaft "B," 2,356 feet; "C," 
2,334 feet; "D," 2,168 feet; "E," 2,388 feet. During 1912, 429 feet of shaft sinking, 
9,343 feet of drifting, 1,209 feet of cross cutting, and 1,740 feet of raising was accom- 
plished. Equipment includes hoists of 3,000 feet capacity, electric plant, stamp 
mill, mine buildings, water-supply system, and a village of 444 dwellings. The 
stamp mill at Freda, on Lake Superior, has four simple heads and two compound 
heads. Power for the mill is supplied by a 500-horsepower engine, with a 180-horse- 
power engine in reserve. The boiler house has four 200-horsepower boilers. The 
pump house has a 20,000,000 gallon pump; water taken from the lake through a 1,020- 
foot tunnel. 

Capital stock. —Authorized and issued, $2,500,000, of which one-half is owned by 
Copper Range Co. and one-half by St. Mary's Mineral Land Co.; par, $25. Dividends 
have been paid as follows: 1903, 12 per cent; 1904, 8 per cent; 1905, 40 per cent; 1906, 
48 per cent; 1907, 40 per cent; 1908, 20 per cent; 1909, 32 per cent; 1910, 36 per cent; 
1911, 20 per cent; 1912, 44 per cent. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Statement of production, years ended Dec. 31. 



155 



1911 



1912 



Tons of rock hoisted 

Tons of rock stamped 

Copper produced, pounds 

Pounds of copper per ton stamped 



787,416 I 804,944 

734,392 765,306 

15,639,426 I 17,225,508 

21.30 ! 22.51 



Receipts and disbursements, years ended Dec. 31. 



Sales of copper, etc 

Operating expenses and taxes 

Mining profit 

Surplus for year 

Previous surplus 

Dividends 

Balance surplus 



1911 



SI, 962. 730 
1,508,141 
454, 588 
454, 588 
837, 668 
500,000 
792. 256 



1912 



$2. 785, 411 
1,533,791 
1,251,619 
1.251,619 

792, 256 
1.100,000 

943, 876 



Assets and liabilities. Dec. 31. 



Cash 

Copper on hand 

United Metals Selling Co., copper delivered, not paid for 

Michigan Smelting Co., stock 

Accounts receivable 

Cash and supplies at mine 

Insurance suspense 



Total. 



LIABILITIES. 



Indebtedness at mine. 
Mine draft in transit . . 

Accounts payable 

Surplus 



Total. 



1911 



1912 



S 155. 210 


$82,009 


406. 713 


502, S6S 


145.671 


176, 694 


110,000 


110,006 


26, 798 


40, 849 


149, 632 


203, 292 


854 


697 


994. 878 


1,116,409 


S9, 533 


100, 344 


89, 103 


62, 199 


23, 986 


9,990 


792, 2,56 


943, 876 



994,878 \ 1.116,409 



Officers. — William A. Paine, president; Charles J. Paine, jr., vice president; Frederic 
Stan wood, secretary and treasurer, Boston. Directors: William A. Paine, George P. 
Gardner. N. H. Stone, C. J. Paine, jr.. Richard Olney, Boston; S. L. Smith, Detroit; 
F. W. Denton, Painesdale. Mich. 



COPPER RANGE CO. 

Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated in 1889, in Michigan. Property, 
9,360 acres south of Baltic mine and miscellaneous land comprising 441 acres with 4 
miles frontage on Lake Superior. Company owns 50,000 shares of Champion Copper 
Co. stock and 26,051 shares of Copper Range Railroad Co. stock. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued, $2,500,000, of which the Copper Range 
Consolidated Co. owns $2,492,475; pax. $25. Dividends in 1905, S3 per share; 1906, 
$6; 1907. $4.50; 1908, $3; 1909, $6; 1910, $4.50; 1911, $3: 1912. $4.50. 

Receipts and expenditures, year ended December 31. 191? —Balance from previous 
year, $26,499; dividends received, $550,000; interest received, $3,415: other receipts, 
$2,491; total. $582,405. Expenditmes: Taxes, $3,649; general expenses at Houghton 
and Boston. $1,556: timberlands, $11: dividends. $450,000; cash. $127,188; total, 
$582,405. 



156 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
General balance sheet, Dec. 31. 





1911 


1912 


Lands on mineral range 


ASSETS. 


$1,287,658 

92,336 

3,855,100 

26,499 


$1,287,658 
92,348 


Timberlands 


Stocks owned 


3,855.100 


Cash 


127.188 








Total 


5,261,593 


5.362.294 




LIABILITIES. 




Capital stock 


2,300,000 

7,751 

2,953,842 


2,300,000 


Accounts payable 


9,661 
3,052,633 


Profit and loss 






Total 


5,261,593 


5 362 9 94 







Officers. — William A. Paine, president; C. A. Snow, vice president; Frederic Stan- 
wood, secretary and treasurer, Boston. Directors: The foregoing and R. T. McKeever, 
Boston: F. W. Denton, Painesdale, Mich. 



TRIMOTJNTAIN MINING CO. 

Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated 1899 in Michigan. Property, 1,120 
acres lving south of Baltic and north of Champion in Houghton County, Mich. Total 
depth of shafts: No. 2, 2,742 feet; No. 3, 2,267 feet; No. 4, 2,191 feet. During 1912 
263 feet of shaft sinking, 7,746 feet of drifting, 401 feet of crosscutting, and 1,770 feet 
of raising was accomplished. Equipment at each shaft includes a 2,500-horsepower 
hoist, with capacity for raising 6-ton skips from 1-mile depth. Mine buildings include 
machine shop, carpenter shop, smithy, and warehouse. There is a 35-drill air com- 
pressor at No. 2 shaft, with a condensing plant in a separate building adjoining. The 
power plant at No. 3 shaft includes a battery of water-tube boilers and a 4,500-foot air 
compressor, running 65 drills, 10 pumps, and sundry pneumatic machinery. The 
stamp mill occupies a 100-acre mill site at Beacon Hill, on Lake Superior, and has four 
compound heads, a 300-horsepower engine, and six 250-horsepower and two 200- 
horsepower boilers. The mill pump house has a 20,000,000-gallon pump. 

Capital stock.— Authorized and issued $2,500,000, of which $2,000,000 paid in; par, 
$25. of which $20 is paid in. Copper Range Consolidated Co. owns 99,345 shares of the 
stock. Company paid S300.000 in dividends in 1903. $500,000 in 1908, $150,000 in 
1910, and $300,000 in 1912. 

Statement of production, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Copper 
produced. 


Price 
received 

per 
pound. 


Total 
cost per 
pound. 


1904 


Pounds. 
10,211.230 
10,476,462 
9,507,933 
8.190,711 
6. 034, 908 
5.282.404 
5.694.868 
6,120,417 
6.980.713 


Cents. 
13.67 
15.47 
18.85 
17.28 
13.39 
13. 89 
12.74 
12.54 
16.16 


Cents. 


1905 


10.93 


1906 


11.40 


1907 


11.82 


1908 


12.50 


' 909 


13. 89 


1910 


12.17 


1911. . 


11.55 


1912. . 


11.73 







MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Receipts and disbursements, years ended Dee. 31 . 



157 



of copper, etc 

Operating expenses and taxes . 

Mining profit 

Surplus for year 

Previous surplus 

Dividends 

Balance surplus 



1911 



$768, 595 
708, 224 
60,370 
60,370 
452, 551 



522,922 



1912 



$1,132,718 
824, 246 
308, 472 
308,472 
522, 922 
300, 000 
531,394 



Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912 — Indebtedness at mine, $99,504; mine 
drafts in transit, $40,681; accounts payable, $4,299; surplus, $531,394; total, $675,879. 
Contra: Cash at Boston, $50,925; copper on hand, $215,555; United Metals Selling Co. 
copper delivered, not paid for, $31,174; Michigan Smelting Co. stock, $110,000; cash 
and supplies at mine, $211,871; accounts receivable, $55,954; insurance suspense, 
$400; total, $675,879. 

Officers. — William A. Paine, president; Frederic Stanwood, secretary and treasurer, 
Boston. Directors: The foregoing and J. H. Brooks, Charles A. Snow, R. T. McKeever, 
Boston; Fred. W. Denton, Painesdale, Mich.; J. R. Stanton, New York. 

FRANKLIN MINING CO. 

Incorporated April 3, 1857, in Michigan. Owns copper mining property at Han- 
cock, Houghton County, Mich., on the same lodes as the Calumet & Hecla mines 
and some of the oldest existing Lake Superior copper mines. Stamp mill located at 
Portage Lake. Owns over 90 per cent of stock of Rhode Island Copper Co. See 
appended statement. 

Production and development, year 1912. — During the year 1,710,651 pounds of copper 
were produced and sold at 16.79 cents per pound. There were 184,057 tons of rock 
hoisted and 176,462 tons stamped. Development during the year totaled 5,134 feet. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $5,000,000; par, $25; outstanding December 31, 1912, 
166,358 shares on which $14.20 per share had been paid in. Assessment of $2 per 
share was paid October 18, 1912. No dividends paid since January, 1894. 

Treasurer's statement, December 31, 1912. — Cash and accounts receivable, $138,340: 
fuel and supplies at mine. $51,058; assessment, October 18, 1912, $332,716; interest. 
$5,964; copper sold, $287,286; other receipts, $1,043; total, $816,407.' Contra: Accounts 
payable, $179,761; balance due from Stephen R. Dow & Co., $81,394; balance due 
from Rhode Island Copper Co., $99,819; mine liabilities omitted in 1911, $661; mine 
expenses, $365,026; smelter and general expenses, $47,907; total, $774,568. Surplus. 
December 31, 1912, $41,839. 

Assets and liabilities , Dec. 31. 
[Exclusive of mine and plant.] 



Assets. 


1911 


1912 


Liabilities. 


1911 


1912 


Cash and accounts receiv- 
able. 
Copper sold 


$133,168 
5,173 


$63,142 

62,106 
42,560 
26,115 
41,022 


Drafts outstanding 

Notes payable 


S37, 169 
88,000 
53.793 


$20,560 
105,560 
67, 546 


Assessment No. 2 unpaid. 


Total 




Fuel 


25, 363 
25, 695 




Supplies 








Total 


189.399 


234,945 


179,762 
9,637 


193. 106 




Balance of assets 


41 , 839 









Officers. — R. M. Edwards, president and general manager, Houghton, Mich.; A. L. 
Wyman, secretary, Henry Tolman, treasurer, Boston. Directors: R. M. Edwards. 
Houghton, Mich.; I. J. Sturgis, Boston; H. M. Howard, Brookline, Mass.; Henry 
Tolman, Newton, Mass.; C. G. Rice, S. J. Jennings. 



158 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



HANCOCK CONSOLIDATED MIXING CO. 

Incorporated June 11, 1906. in Michigan. Property comprises 992 acres, including 
die old Hancock mine, the Condon tract, and land secured from St. Marys Mineral 
Land Co. The Hancock mine, between 1861 and 1885. had produced 2.854 tons of 
line copper. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, S5.000.000. of which $2,800,000 in treasury: par. $25, 
only part paid in. 

Receipts and disbursements, year ended December SI. 1912. — Receipts from assessments. 
$182,977: loan. S50.000: total, $232,977. Disbursements: Construction and develop- 
ment. S217.765: taxes. $31,658; interest. $2,237; general expenses. $15,883; total. 
$267,543. Excess of disbursements, $34,566. 

General balance sheet, December 81. 



Assets. 



1911 



1912 



Treasury stock 

Real estate 

Expense 

Construction and develop 

ment 

Cash 

Supplies 

Assessments 

Accounts receivable 

Total 



83.000.000 
594.698 
264.685 

1.264,215 

41.559 

24.211 

6. 260 

1.922 



5.197,551 



82.800.000 
594:698 
312.226 

1,481,980 

6.577 
19,666 
23.283 

2,849 



5.241.279 



Liabilities. 



1911 



Capital stock J So. 000, 000 $5. 000, 000 

Interest i 14.314 12,077 

Accounts and notes pay- 
able '... 88,549 ! 134,515 

Refined copper 94.687 94,687 



1912 



Total. 



5.197.551 5.241.279 



Officers: J. D. Cuddihy. president; Thomas Hoatson, vice president: J. H. Hicok, 
secretary and treasurer ; John L. Harris, general manager. Directors: J. D. Cuddihy. 
Thomas Hoatson, James Hoatson, S. B. Harris, Allen F. Rees, Frederic W. Nichols. 



HOUGHTON COPPER CO. 



Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated in 1909, in Michigan. Property com- 
prises 160 acres, located in the Houghton district, Mich., on the Superior lode. 
Development work is being prosecuted by shaft sinking and drifting. Total 
development to January 1, 1913, about 2,946 feet. 

Capital stock. — Authorized, $2,500,000: par, $25; issued, 67,000 shares, on which 
$6 per share paid up. The St. Marys Mineral Land Co. owns 37,222 shares of the 
stock. 

Income account, year ended December 81, 1912. — Receipts: Assessment No. 1, $63,255; 
miscellaneous. $219; total, $63,474. Expenditures: Mine expenses, $42,164; taxes, 
$2,732: interest and insurance, $998: Boston office expenses, $3,507; total, $49,400. 
Surplus. $14,074. 

Assets and liabilities, December 81, 1912.— Assets: Cash, $1,700; supplies, $4,630; 
accounts receivable, $57; total, $6,387. Liabilities: Accounts payable at Boston, 
$4,000; accounts payable at mine, $5,741: total, $9,741. Excess of liabilities, $3,353! 

Officers: Charles J. Paine, jr., president; George P. Gardner, vice president; A. E. 
Coe, secretary and treasurer, Boston; L. L. Hubbard, general manager, Houghton, 
Mich. Directors: George P. Gardner, Charles J. Paine, jr., N. H. Stone, Boston; 
James P. Edwards, F. W. Nichols. Houghton, Mich. 



LAKE COPPER CO. 



Incorporated November 28, 1905, in Michigan. Property consists of 2,010 acres, 
adjoining the Adventure, in Ontonagon County, Mich., including 1,150 acres of 
mineral land, 680 acres of timber lands, and 180 acres of cutover lands. Company 
purchased 20 acres immediately east of the shaft from the St. Mary's Mineral Land Co., 
to provide room for a surface plant, the purchase carrying with it mineral rights to a 
depth of 100 feet. The bulk of the mineral property formerly was a part of the Belt 
mine, first opened in 1848, and taken over in 1882 by the Belt Mines Co. (Ltd.). 

During fiscal year 1911-12, 12,653 feet of development work was done, compared 
with 9,831 feet in previous year. Production was started in April. 1912. with monthly 
average of about 115.000 pounds copper. Mill recovery shows about 26 pounds of 
mineral per ton. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



159 



Capital slock. — Authorized and outstanding. 100,000 shares ($2,500,000); par, $25, 
of which $3 per share ($300,000) paid in. 

Receipts and disbursements, year ended April 30, 1912. — Receipts: Cash on hand 
May 1, 1911, $326,952; sale of copper, $39,338: miscellaneous receipts, $6,070; interest 
on bank deposits, $9,151; total receipts, $381,511. Expenditures: Expenditures at 
mine, $311,076; all other expenses, $10,972; total expenditures, $322,048. Cash on 
hand April 30, 1912, $59,463. 

Assets and liabilities. April 30, 1912. — Assets: Cash in bank, $59,463; supplies at 
mine, $17,959; copper on hand, $30,380; total, $107,802. Liabilities: Accounts pay- 
able (current indebtedness at mine), $20,289. Balance of assets, $87,513. 

Officers. — W. A. Paine, president, Boston, Mass.; John H. Rice, vice president, 
Houghton, Mich.; R. H. Gross, secretary and treasurer, Boston, Mass.; C. K. Hitch- 
cock, jr., manager, Lake Mine, Mich. Directors: John H. Rice, R. C. Prvor, Hough- 
ton, Mich.; W. A. Paine, R. H. Gross, G. L. Stone, W. F. Fitzgerald, R, T. McKeever, 
Boston, Mass. 

MASS CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. 

Incorporated in 1899, in Michigan, to operate copper properties of about 3,000 
acres in mass, Ontonagon County, Mich. The mine is stated to be notably rich in 
mass copper and its physical equipment is adequate. There are three shafts with 
respective depths of 1,757 feet, 1,857 feet, and 1,100 feet. The power plant between 
A and B shafts has a double hoist, a 50-drill air compressor, a dynamo for electric 
light, and two 250-horsepower boilers. 

The stamp mill, situated on Keweenaw Bay, on an arm of Lake Superior, 34 miles 
northeast of the mine, is equipped with two heads of about 1,200 tons capacity. The 
boiler house has two 200-horsepower and one 350-horsepower boilers. The pump 
house has a 16,000,000-gallon pump, fed from a 12-foot by 30-foot well, connected 
with a tunnel running 300 feet under the bed of the bay to the intake. 

In 1911 the company completed the purchase of the Evergreen Bluff Mining Co. 's 
lands, comprising about 2,000 acres, and which had divided the southern half of the 
Mass property. 

A special meeting of the stockholders was held in 1912, and it was voted to sell a 
portion of the company's lands to a new company, the stock of which was to be offered 
to stockholders of the Mass company, but condition of the stock market has Deen such 
that no attempt has been made so far to carry out the plan. 

Capital stock.— Authorized. $2,500,000; paid in, $2,300,000; par. $25. Xo bonds. 
No dividends. 

Production, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Refined 
copper. 


Average 
price re- 
ceived. 


Pounds 
copper per 
ton of rock. 


Number 
feet new 
openings. 


1966 


Pounds. 

2, 106, 739 

2,078,677 

1,766,930 

1,723,436 

1,321,885 

1,326,898 

2,045,006 


Cents. 
19.52 
18.26 
13.50 
13. 613 
12. 503 
12. 76 
17.02 


11.34 
10.16 
10. 32 


9,834 
3,354 


1907 


1908... 


I.Mffi 


1909 


12.36 i 2,464 


1910 


14.59 4,335 
17.58 7,166- 
15.39 


1911 


1912 









Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Total re- 
ceipts. 


Expenses 
and taxes. 


Construc- 
tion, ex- j Total ex- 
ploring andi pended. 
real estate, i 


Deficit for 
year. 


1906 


$416, 631 
388, 171 
240,520 
243,749 
365, 749 
494,834 
349,355 


$477, 941 
433,280 
261,433 
271,361 
186,289 
211,002 
187, 798 


$42,387 
14,265 
25,978 
17,393 
49, 390 
253, 122 
182,919 


$520,328 
447,545 
287,411 
288,754 
235,697 
464, 124 
370, 717 


$103,697 
59,374 
46, 891 


1907 


1908 


1909 


45,005 
sur. 130, 070 


1910 


1911 


sur. 30, 710 


1912 


21,362 





160 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 
Assets and liabilities, Dec. 31. 



Assets. 


1911 


1912 


Liabilities. 


1911 


1912 




$13, 736 
15,299 
16,688 
17, 649 
18,681 
20,303 


$17,429 
18,239 




$30,400 
30, 139 

10,888 


$65,400 

47,026 

16, 758 

1,634 

1,371 






Assessments 


Pay roll 


Supplies at mine 


27,820 
17,383 
61,160 


Evergreen Trust 


Supplies at mill 






Copper on hand 


Amount due certificate hold- 
ers from sale of unpaid as- 
sets 


219 




495 




Total 






71,646 
30,710 


132, 684 
9,347 




Surplus of assets 




Total 


Total 


102,356 


142,031 


102, 356 


142,031 







Officers: J. W. Linnell, jr., president; T. O. Nicholson, vice president; W. A. 
Bancroft, secretary and treasurer. Directors: The foregoing and D. A. Carrick, 
James B. Hill, William F. Fitzgerald, F. J. Schultheis, F. L. Maguire, and E. W. 
Walker. 

MOHAWK MINING CO. 

Incorporated in November, 1898, in Michigan. Company owns a tract of 800 acres 
in sections 27, 28, 33, 34, township 57 north, range 32 west, in Keweenaw County, 4 
miles northeast of the property of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. Company has a 
mill site of 140 acres, with a frontage of three-fourths of a mile on Traverse Bay, Lake 
Superior, about one-fourth of a mile from mouth of the Tobacco River. The mineral 
lands aggregate 800 acres, forming an irregular tract with its axis on the strike of the 
lode. Development is by five shafts and underground openings. The Mohawk mill 
at Gay has four stamps, each head with a daily capacity of 500 tons, working on the 
rock of the Kearsarge lode. The equipment includes the most modern machinery, 
also a town named in honor of Joseph E. Gay, with dwellings for employees, streets, 
water mains, hydrants, etc. An 1,800-foot spur to a connection with the Traverse Bay 
Railroad was constructed in 1909, also a dam to furnish sufficient water for the needs 
of the plant. Development work in 1905 showed total openings of 10.812 feet; 1906, 
13,314 feet; 1907, 11,043 feet; 1908, 12,669 feet; 1909, 13,691 feet; 1910, 14,978 feet; 
1911, 15, 459 feet; 1912 (634 feet shaft sinking and 14.768 feet drifting and crosscutting), 
15,402 feet. 

Capital stock, $2,500,000; par, $2.5. — Dividends have been paid as follows: 1906, $5 
per share; 1907,' $9; 1908, $2.50°; 1909, $3; 1910, $2; 1911, $1.75; 1912, $3.50; Feb- 
ruary 1, 1913. $3; payments, semiannually, F & A 1. 

Operating statistics, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Refined 
copper. 


Total cost, 
including 
construc- 
tion, per 
pound. 


Price re- 
ceived per 
pound. 


1906 


Pounds. 

9, 352, 252 
10, 107, 266 
10, 295, 881 
11,248,474 
11,412,066 
12,091,056 
11,995,598 


Cents. 
11.54 
11.747 
10. 755 
11.207 
10.965 
10. 399 
10.61 


Cents. 
19.60 


1907 ... 


15.66 


1908 ... 


13.43 


1909 ... 


13.20 


1910 ... 


11.44 


1911 . . 


12.63 


1912. . 


16.08 











MICHIGAN COPPEB DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Income account, years ended Dec. 81. 



161 



Year. 


Gross 
receipts. 


Expenses. 


Mining 
profit. 


Construc- 
tion 
charges. 


Net 

profit. 


Divi- 
dends. 


Surplus 
for year. 


1907 


$1,585,787 
1, 384, 165 
1,484,292 
1,493,816 
1,527,108 
1,929,428 


$1,084,029 
1,085,590 
1, 248, 048 


$501, 75 S 
298,575 
236. 244 


$103,353 
21, 796 
12.553 
54.368 
31, 280 
8,815 


$398, 405 
276, 779 
223, 691 
188, 083 
269,506 
656. 436 


$900,000 
250,000 
300,000 
200,000 
175, 000 
350,000 


$557, 822 


1908 


584,600 


1909 


508, 291 


1910 


1,251,365 1 242,451 
1,226,322 | 300,786 
1,264,177 1 665.251 


496, 374 


1911 


590, 881 


1912 


897, 316 











Assets and liabilities, Dec. 31. 



Assets. 1911 


1912 


Liabilities. 


911 


1912 




$16,099 
150, 000 
432, 536 
85, 250 
80,000 


$14,676 
275, 000 
599,947 
108,237 
80,000 


Indebtedness at mine 


$158, 449 
14,555 


$161, 403 


Cash in trust company 

Copper on hand, sold 

Cash and supplies at mine 

Stock in Michigan Smelting Co. 


19,141 


Total 




173, 004 


180,544 


Excess of assets over liabilities. 


590, 881 


897,316 


Total 


763,885 


1,077,860 







Officers: Joseph E. Gay, president; J. R. Stanton, treasurer; J. W. Hardley, secre- 
tary, New York. Directors: The foregoing and W. A. Paine, Boston, Mass.; Fred 
Smith, Kearsarge, Mich. 

QUINCY MINING CO. 

Incorporated originally by special charter of the State of Michigan March 30, 1848 . 
Charter expired March 6, 1878, when the company was reorganized under the existing 
mining law of Michigan. Its business is that of copper mining and smelting, and it owns 
and works one of the richest copper-mine properties in the Portage Lake district, 
Houghton County, upper Michigan. Purchased the mine and mill location of the 
Franklin Mine Co., adjoining the company's property, in 1908. 

In 1910 the company purchased 800 acres of mineral land from the St. Mary's Canal 
Mineral Land Co., immediately adjoining the company's present territory and carry- 
ing the extensions of the Pewabic vein. The cost of the property was $600,000. 

The stamp mills, two in number, are at Mason, on Torch Lake, 6 miles from the 
mine, and have a combined stamping capacity of about 5,000 tons daily. The power 
house at the mills is equipped with four 250-horsepower water-tube boilers. The 
pumps include one 20,000,000-gallon pump, and three pumps with a combined capacity 
of 21,000,000 gallons daily. Water is taken from a 100-foot tunnel driven under the 
bed of the lake. A 440-foot tunnel, carrying steam and water pipes, connects the mills, 
boiler houses, and pump houses. The smelter is situated one-half mile from the mine, 
on the shore of Portage Lake. The works, in addition to treating the Quincy produce, 
do a custom business. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $3,750,000; outstanding, $2,750,000; par, $25. Divi- 
dends have been paid in recent years as follows: 1900, 36 per cent; 1901, 36 per cent; 
1902, 28 per cent; 1903, 22 per cent; 1904, 20 per cent; 1905, 24 per cent; 1906, 50 per 
cent; 1907, 54 per cent; 1908, 18 per cent; 1909, 16 per cent; 1910, 20 per cent; 1911, 
16 per cent; 1912, 20 per cent; March, 19i3, 6 per cent; June, 1913, 5 per cent; pay- 
ments quarterly. Total dividends paid to January 1, 1913. $20,430,000. 

Production years ended Dec. 81 . 



Year. 


Refined 
copper. 


Year. 


Refined 
copper. 


1904 


Pounds. 
18,343,160 
18,827,557 
16. 194. 838 
19, 796, 058 
20,600,381 


1909 


Pounds. 
22,511,984 
22,517,014 
22.252.943 


1905.. 


1910 


1903 


1911 


1907 


; 1912 

! 


20. 634. 800 


1908 



27003— S. Doc. 381, 62-3 11 



162 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Gross in- 
come. 


Operating 

expenses, 

etc. 


Net profit. 


Other in- 
come. 


Previous 
surplus. 


Total sur- 
plus. 


Dividends. 


Balance. 


1905 

1906 


$2,981,121 
3,099,011 
3,717,501 
2, 796. 230 
3. 034. 810 
2.974.086 
2,854,804 
3,381, 5S7 


$1,905,523 
1,963,437 
2,442.359 
2,358,464 
2,478.716 
2.360,125 
2,385,067 
2,436,052 


$1,075,198 

1.135,574 
1.275,152 
437. 766 
556, 094 
613,961 
489. 737 
945.535 


$29, 283 
27,411 
21,520 
16,394 
12, 756 
28,732 
17,860 
15.245 


$946,841 


$2,051,325 
1,250,000 
2,517,204 
1,483.364 
1,560.214 
1.762,908 
1,570.504 
1.933.278 


$600,000 


$1,451,325 

1,250,000 

1.032.204 

991,364 

1,120,214 

il,0t2,908 
1972,499 

11,233,278 


1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 


1,220,532 
1,032,204 

991,3^4 
1,120,215 
1.0 2,907 

972,499 


i, 485, 666 

495,000 
440,000 
550.000 
440,000 
550.000 



i After deducting $150,000 in 1910, $158,035 in 1911, and $150,000 in 1912, on account of land purchased from 
•St. Mary's Canal Mineral Land Co. 

Assets and liabilities, December 31, 1912, exclusive of real estate, mine plant, and sup- 
plies in use. — Cash, copper, and investments, $980,613; accounts receivable, §212,030; 
total, $1,192,643. Contra: Mine drafts unpaid, $3,893; accounts payable in New 
York, $17,325; accounts payable at mine, $236,461; accounts payable at smelting 
works, $9,318; total, $266,997; leaving $925,646; add supplies, etc., and accounts 
receivable at mine, $281,083; supplies, etc., and accounts receivable at smelting 
works, $26,549; balance of assets, $1,233,278. 

Officers. —William It. Todd, president; W. Parsons Todd, vice president; W. A. O. 
Paul, secretary and treasurer. Directors: W. Parsons Todd, W. R. Todd, Walter P. 
Bliss, Isaac H. Meserve, Charles J. Devereaux, Otto- Kirchner (of Michigan), Jas. L. 
Bishop, W. M. Belcher, John M. Longyear. 

WINONA COPPER CO, 

Incorporated November 3, 1898, in Michigan; owns an extensive mineral prop- 
erty of about 1,500 acres in Houghton County, Mich.; also timber rights to 1,768 
acres, situated about 5 miles from the mine; also owns the entire capital stock of the 
King Philip Copper Co. The mine has two working shafts. Company has electric 
pumps and runs about 10 drills, and also has a 2-head stamp mill. Development, 
year ended December 31, 1912, shows drifting, 3,060 feet; crosscuts, 114 feet. 

Production, year ended December 31, 1912.— Rock stamped, 181,148 tons; product of 
mineral, 3,586,520 pounds; product of refined copper, 2,307,237 pounds; yield of 
mineral per ton of rock stamped, 19.79 pounds; yield of copper per ton of rock 
stamped, 12.7367 pounds; price received per pound for copper, 16.306 cents. 

Capital stock.— Authorized, $5,000,000; 166,667 shares issued; par, $25, of which 
paid up, $23 per share. Of the stock, 66,666 shares were issued in exchange for King 
Philip Copper Co. stock on the basis of two Winona shares for three of King Philip. 
No dividends. 

Income account, years ended Dec. 31. 



Year. 


Sales of 
copper. 


Other 
income. 


Total 
income. 


Mine 
expenses. 


Smelting 
and mar- 
keting. 


General 

expenses 

and 

taxes. 


Deficit 
for year. 


1906 


$63,326 

219, 332 

1,456 


$1,175 

3.086 

14.979 

265 774 

203. 157 

3 315 906 

18.094 


$64, 501 
222. 418 
16.435 
265, 774 
203, 157 
475. 796 
394,314 


$276, 140 
383, 375 
196.982 
100, 308 
98 379 
278547 
429.540 


?3.350 

15.419 

1,038 

i 56. 500 

1138.000 

38. 638 

24.422 


$13, 501 
13, 824 
13. 106 
14.041 
17.598 
11,797 
25. 132 


$228. 490 


1907.. 


190,200 


1908... 


196. 147 


1909 


2 94. 925 


1910... 




50.820 


1911.. 


159. 890 
376, 220 


2 146.814 


1912... 


84, 780 







Advanced to stamp m ill. 



2 Surplus. 



» Includes $185,421 from assessments. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Assets and liabilities. Dec. 31. 



163 





1911 


1912 




ASSETS. 


$45, 186 

3,275 

81, 125 

65, 289 


S27, 881 




4,224 


Supplies and cash at mine 


81, 856 




63, 718 








Total 


194, 875 


177, 679 




LIABILITIES. 






48.061 
146, 814 


115, 645 




62,034 








Total 


194. 875 


177, 679 









Officers. — Charles J. Paine, jr., president; Nathaniel H. Stone, vice president, 
E. B. O'Connor, secretary and treasurer, Boston. Directors: William A. Paine; 
James H. Seager, Charles J. Paine, George P. Gardner, Walter Hunnewell, Nathaniel 
H. Stone, Charles J. Paine, jr. 

KING PHILIP COPPER CO. 

Controlled by stock ownership. Incorporated November 13, 1905, in Michigan. 
Property, 1,040 acres, in Houghton and Ontonagon Counties, Mich. The mine 
is opened by two shafts on the Winona lode, which averages about 20 feet in width. 
The shafts are equipped with 1,200-foot hoists. Power house contains a battery of 
two 200 horsepower boilers, 6 drill and 15 drill air compressors, and a powerful 3-stage 
air compressor. Company recently erected a stamp mill in conjunction with the 
Winona Copper Co. 

Capital stock. — Authorized and issued, $2,500,000; par, $25, of which $13 has been 
paid in. All owned by Winona Copper Co. 

Officers. — Charles J. Paine, jr., president; George P. Gardner, vice president; 
Edward B. O'Connor, secretary and treasurer. Directors: E. V. R. Thayer, George 
P. Gardner, Walter Hunnewell, Rufus R. Goodell, Nathaniel H. Stone, Charles J. 
Paine, jr. 

WOLVERINE COPPER MINING CO. 

Incorporated in 1890, in Michigan. Property consists of 320 acres, of which 280 
acres are freehold and 40 acres adjoining mineral rights, in Houghton County, Mich., 
the property carrying 3,100 feet of the strike of the Kearsarge amygdaloidal bed, on 
which the mine is opened. The Kearsarge bed averages about 17 feet in width on 
the W T olverine property. 

_ Ore isblocked out for about six years' production, and an estimate of 20 to 25 years' 
life is given the mine. About 20 power drills are employed in stoping and 10 in 
opening work. There are 5 Knowles electric pumps in use, and tramcars are used for 
underground rock handling. 

The principal mine buildings are at No. 4 shaft, where there are 20-drill and 22-drill 
air compressors. The company owns a large number of dwellings. 

The mill, completed in 1902, is situtated 13 miles from the mine, near the mouth of 
Tobacco River, on Traverse Bay, Lake Superior, adjoining the Mohawk, both mills 
being served by a single pump, and managed by a joint superintendent. Capacity 
(two heads) is about 1,100 tons per day. A complete machine shop, and a boiler 
house containing a battery of 200 horsepower water-tube boilers have been built. 
The pump house, which is owned and operated jointly by the Wolverine and Mohawk, 
has a 20,000,000 gallon Snow pump, and also an 8,000,000 gallon Nordberg pump, 
which is used as an auxiliary. Rock is transported to the mill by the Mohawk & 
Traverse Bay Railroad. 

Capital stock. — Authorized, $1,500,000; par, $25, on which $13 per share has been 
paid. Dividends have been paid A and O 1, as follows: 1898, SI; 1899, $3.50; 1900, 
1901, and 1902, $4 each; 1903, $5.50; 1904, $7.50; 1905, $11; 1906, $17; 1907, $17.50; 
1908. 1909, and 1910, $10 each; 1911, $9; 1912, $10; April, 1913, $5. 



164 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Development work, etc., years ended June 30. 



Year: 


Sinking 
shafts. 


Drifting 
and cross- 
cutting. 


Total 
openings. 


Stoping. 


1906 


Feet. 

358 
450 
414 
321 
191 
436 
541 


Feet. 

4,419 
4,993 
4,841 
4,631 
4,948 
4,718 
4,293 


Feet. 
4,778 
5,443 
5,255 
4,951 
5,139 
5,154 
4,834 


Fathoms. 
23,252 
23,175 
23,817 
23,869 
25,440 
26,061 
25 845 


1907 


1908 


1909 


1910 


1911 


1912 







Operations, years ended June 30. 



Year. 


Production 
of refined 
copper. 


Yield of 
copper 
per ton 
of rock. 


Cost per ton of rock. 


Hoist. 


Stamp. 


1906 


Pounds. 

9,681,706 

9,372,982 

9,356,123 

9,995,748 

9, 757, 101 

9,617,168 

9,408,960 


Pounds. 
28.32 
27.24 
26.82 
26.75 
24. 96 
24.75 
23.45 


SI. 49 
1.58 
1.62 
1.52 
1.55 
1.59 
1.53 


$1.54 


1907 


1.65 


1908 


1.71 


1909 


1.60 


1910 


1.61 


1911 


1.64 


1912 


1.58 









Income account, years ended June 30. 





1906-7 


1907-8 


1908-9 


1909-10 


1910-11 


1911-12 


Proceeds of copper 


$2,002,379 
15, 198 


$1,231,223 
13, 221 


$1, 334, 056 
8,326 


$1,291,528 
2,671 


$1,209,747 
1,271 


$1,327,031 


Interest 






Total receipts 


2,017,577 


1,244,444 


1,342,382 


1,294,199 


1,211,018 


1,327,031 






Expenses 


669, 037 

42, 137 

1,140,000 


685,042 


692,337 

44,904 

600,000 


720,394 

2,939 

600,000 


723,123 

2,191 

600,000 


713,850 


Construction 


Dividends 


750,000 


540.000 






Balance 


i 166, 403 
989, 186 


2 190,598 
1, 002, 227 


» 5, 141 
811,629 


2 29, 134 
816, 769 


2 114,296 
787,635 


i 73, 181 
673,339 


Previous surplus 






Total surplus 


1,155,589 


811, 629 


816, 770 


787,635 


673,339 


746,520 







Surplus. 



2 Deficit. 



Assets and liabilities, June 30, 1912. — Assets: Cash in bank, $10,207; deposit in trust 
company, $250,000; copper bills and copper on hand, $451,121; cash and supplies at 
mine, $44,358; stock in Michigan Smelting Co., $80,000; accounts receivable, $4,642; 
total, $840,328. Liabilities: Indebtedness at mine, $67,632; accounts payable, $26,176; 
total, $93,808. Excess of assets, $746,520. 

Officers and directors. — Joseph E. Gay, president; J. R. Stanton, treasurer; J. W. 
Hardley, secretary: E. B. Hinsdale, Samuel L. Smith. 



APPENDIX III. 

Capital Paid in, Dividends, and Cost op Production of Lake Superior Mines. 

I From Report of Strike Investigation bv the Committee of the Copper Country Commercial Club of 

Michigan, 1913.] 

COST OF PRODUCTION. 

The following tables (as far as the committee has been able to complete them) 
show in detail the average copper contents per ton of rock, of the rock mined by the 
various companies during the year 1912, the number of pounds of refined copper 
produced in 1912, the amount of money paid out in wages to employees, ana the 
average cost pe: pound of copper produced: 



Company. 



Average 
copper con- 
tents per 
ton of rock 
mined. 



Pounds of re- 
fined copper ! 
produced. 



Amount paid 
in wages. 



Cost of 
production 
per pound 

of copper. 



Mohawk Mining Co 

Ahmeek Mining Co 

Allouez Mining Co 

Osceola Consolidated Mining Co. . 

Osceola mine 

North Kearsarge mine 

South Kearsarge mine 

Stamp mill 

Wolverine Copper Mining Co 

Centennial Copper Mining Co 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co 

Tamarack Mining Co 

La Salle Copper Co 

Laurium Mining Co 

Franklin Mining Co 

Oneco Copper Mining Co 

Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. 

Quincy Mining Co 

Isle R ovale Copper Co 

Superior Copper Co 

Copper Range Consolidated Co. . . 

Baltic Mining Co 

Trimountain Mining Co 

Champion Copper Co 

Winona Copper Co 



Pounds. 
13.81 
25.229 
16.56 



11,905,598 
16, 455, 769 
5, 525, 455 



$765, 
•543, 
163, 



820. 06 
817.37 
615.68 



12.8 
12.8 
18.2 



9.8 



15.73 
15.43 
22.76 



20.50 
19.04 
22.50 
12. 73 



1,479,642 
8,611,720 
8,322,025 




9, 120, 485 

1,742,338 

67, 856, 429 

7, 908, 745 



1,710,651 



20, 634, 800 
8, 186, 957 
3,921,974 



135, 
468, 
255, 
142, 

378, 



633 

3 
27 

219. 

:i 

141. 
, 436. 
555] 
164, 

, 20S. 



097.27 
226.13 
585.54 
659.68 
875. 75 
591.70 
013.05 
842. 19 
614. 71 
183.49 
724.95 
501. 76 
123.34 
781.90 
205.55 
220. 57 
537.62 



13,373,961 
6,980,713 

17,225,508 
2,307,237 



Total 



297,371.03 



213,360,007 12,606.409.34 



Cents. 
10.61 
7.85 
13.52 
10.36 



8.665 
13.46 
9.86 
13.15 
0) 
0) 



0) 

0) 
u. 48 
11.89 
12.75 



1 No copper production during 1912; exploratory and development work only. 

The average price of copper per pound, over a period of 20 years, from 1891 to 1010, 
as given by Stevens's Copper Handbook, is 13.768 cents per pound. 

DIVIDENDS AND ASSESSMENTS OF LAKE SUPERIOR MINES. 



Of the above mining companies in the district seven paid dividends duiing the 
year 1912, namely: Mohawk Mining Co., Ahmeek Mining Co., Wolverine Copper Min- 
ing Co., Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., Osceola Consolidated Mining Co., Quincy 
Mining Co., and Copper Range Consolidated Mining Co. The Isle Royale Copper 
Co. in 1913 paid one dividend of $1 per share, being the first dividend since its 
operation, which commenced previous to 1860. 

In view of the claim that has been made that the Lake Superior copper district 
is the richest in the world, the following table, taken from Stevens's Copper Hand- 
book, will be of interest. The table lists something over 70 mining companies that 
have operated in the Lake Superior copper district from 1849 to 1910. Of the entire 

165 



166 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 



list only 14 mines have paid back the money invested. If the Calumet & Hecla 
Mining Co. is taken from tne list, the table will show that in all those yeais the copper 
industry has just about paid back the money invested in it: 



Company. 



ments. 



1849-1910 
i dividends. 



Adventure Consolidated. 

Ahmeek 

Albany & Boston 

Allouez 

Atlantic 

Arcadian 

Arnold 

Ashbed 

Aztec 



Baltic 

Belt. 

Bohemian 

Caledonia 

Calumet & Hecla 

Centennial (Old) 

Centennial (New) 

Central 

Champion 

Cliff (Old) 

Conglomerate 

Copper Falls 

Copper Range Consolidated . 

Delaware 

Elm River 

Evergreen Bluff 

Flint Steel 

Forrest , 

Franklin 

Hancock , 

Humbolt 

Huron 

Indiana (Old) 

Isle Royale 

Kearsarge 

Keweenaw 

King Philip 

Lake 



La Salle 

Mass Consolidated... 

Mayflower 

Michigan 

Miners 

Minnesota 

Mohawk 

National 

New Arcadian 

Nonesuch 

Northwest 

Norwich 

Ohio Trap Rock 

Ojibway 

Old Colony 

Osceola 

Pennsylvania 

Peninsula 

Pewabic 

Phoenix (Old) 

Phoenix Consolidated . 

Quincy 

Ridge. 



Rhode Island 

Superior 

Tamarack 

Tamarack Junior. 

Tecumseh 

Trimountain 

Toltec 

Victoria 

Winona 

Wolverine 

Wyandot 

Miscellaneous 



Total. 



$2, 450, 000 

850,000 

840, 000 

2, 225, 000 

1,180,000 

1,800,000 

810, 000 

40, 000 

150, 000 

1,800.000 

1,300,000 

180, 000 

140,000 

1,200,000 

1,135,000 

1,755,000 

100, 000 

2, 500, 000 

111,000 

1,300,000 

1,000,000 

2,300,000 

2,000,000 

1,200,000 

225,000 

264,000 

180,000 

1,020,000 

1,800,000 

120,000 

240,000 

200,000 

2,750,000 

180,000 

2,800,000 

800,000 

300,000 

1,000,000 

2, 100, 000 

800,000 

2,000,000 

2,000,000 

456,000 

1,800,000 

350,000 

75,000 

400, 000 

283,000 

230,000 

150,000 

1,008,000 

1,100,000 

1,700,000 

126,000 

400,000 

585,200 

1,037,500 

1,350,000 

200,000 

470,000 

1,000,000 

100,000 

780,000 

640,000 

500,000 

2,000,000 

500,000 

1,200,000 

2,200,000 

780,000 

1,000,000 

10,000,000 



79, 565, 700 



$990,000 



6, 550, 000 



112,500,000 



2, 130, 000 
6, 600, 000 
2, 518, 620 



100,000 
10,756,526 



1,240,000 



160, 000 



1,820,000 

2,150,000 

320,000 



), 343, 250 



19,302,500 
100,000 



,420,000 
'800,' 666' 



6,300,000 



Debit bal- 
ance. 



$2, 450, 000 

850,000 

840, 000 

2,225,000 

190, 000 

1,800,000 

810, 000 

40,000 

150, 000 



1,000,000 . 
20,000 ! 



1,300,000 
180, 000 
140,000 



1,135,000 
1,755,000 



1,300,000 
900,000 



2,000,000 

1,200,000 

225,000 

264,000 

180,000 



Credit bal- 
ance. 



1,800,000 
120,000 
240,000 
200,000 

2,750,000 
20,000 

2,800,000 
800,000 
300,000 

1,000,000 

2,100,000 
800,000 

2,000,000 

2,000,000 



30,000 

75,000 

400,000 

283,000 

230,000 

150,000 

1,008,000 

1,100,000 



126,000 
400,000 



1,017,500 
1,350,000 



370,000 

1,000,000 

100,000 



640,000 

500,000 

1,200,000 

500,000 

1,200,000 

2,200,000 



1 , 000, 000 
10,000,000 



194, 120, 896 61 , 843, 500 176, 298, 696 



$4,750,000 



111,300,000 



2,030.000 
4,100.000 
2,407,620 



,456,526 



220,000 



1,364,000 
350,000 



7,643,250 



414,800 



19,102,500 



8,640,000 



5,520,000 



REPORT OF JOHN B. DENSMORE, SOLICITOR OF 
THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, DETAILED AS 
COMMISSIONER OF CONCILIATION, ON HIS 
EFFORTS TO SECURE A SETTLEMENT OF THE 
STRIKE. 

Department of Labor, 
Office of the Solicitor, 
Washington, January 9, 1914- 
The Secretary of Labor: 

Pursuant to directions contained in your letter of December 26, 
1913, I proceeded on that day to Calumet, Mich., for the purpose of 
attempting to settle the industrial dispute between the copper-mine 
operators and their men. For the purpose of ascertaining how diffi- 
cult or easy might be the task of negotiating a settlement, I made an 
effort to obtain accurate information as to the number of men still on 
strike. From information given me by both operators and miners I 
concluded there were between six and seven thousand of the old em- 
ployees still idle. 

Approximately 15,000 men were employed just prior to the strike. 
On January 1, 1914, a statement from the operators shows 8,000 
former employees at work; the statement from the strikers' officials 
shows benefits on that date being paid to 7,500 members of the union 
who are idle. 

My negotiations with the striking miners were conducted through 
Judge H. U. Hilton, general counsel of the Western Federation of 
Miners, and Claude Taylor, president of the Michigan Federation of 
Labor. These gentlemen were in immediate charge of the strike dur- 
ing the absence of President Charles H. Moyer. 

The original demands of the union were as follows : 

1. A demand for the recognition of the Western Federation of 
Miners. 

2. A demand for either the abolishment of the one-man drill or the 
working of two men on each drill. 

3. A demand for a minimum wage of $3 for trammers and $3.50 for 
miners. 

4. A demand for an eight-hour working day. 

GRIEVANCES. 

1. The claim that men are not treated with justice and decency by 
the petty bosses employed in the mines. • 

2. That the men have no adequate way of presenting grievances to 
the various mining managers without incurring the displeasure of the 
minor bosses, and undergoing discrimination and possible discharge 
for making complaints. 

167 



168 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

From Judge Hilton and President Taylor, representing the strikers, 
I obtained authority to make a settlement on the following basis : 

1. That the miners be given an opportunity to present grievances 
through a committee. 

2. That the wages and hours — $3 minimum and 8 J hours, pro- 
posed by the operators in notice posted by them on December 1, 
1913, as a modification of the original demands, go into effect at once. 

3. That the miners be taken back to work without discrimination 
on account of their membership in any union. 

4. That there be no discrimination on account of membership in 
any union after they had returned to work. 

The proposal did not require nor demand recognition of any union 
or organization, nor the signing of any agreement or contract by the 
operators with the Western Federation of Miners, nor its officials, 
national or local, nor with any individual employee, or at all. 

For the purpose of bringing all the influence possible to bear upon 
the operators in urging this plan of settlement, I requested a con- 
ference with a committee of citizens representing all the public in the 
strike zone. This committee, composed of business men, bankers, 
and professional men from Houghton, Hancock, and Calumet, repre- 
senting the Copper Country Commercial Club and Citizens' Alliance 
and the public, met me in conference, and heard my plan of settlement. 
After a discussion lasting six hours, during which every possible angle 
of the situation was discussed, and the distressing contingent possi- 
bilities attending a continuance of the conflict considered, the com- 
mittee stated that they would not only refuse to urge the plan of 
settlement upon the operators, but would seriously object to the 
operators making any settlement that included the taking back of 
any old employees or others who were members of the Western 
Federation of Miners unless he first renounced his union, turned in 
his card to the company, and signed an agreement not to join or 
belong to the union. 

I then proposed that the operators post notices at the mines to the 
effect that all miners who so desired would be taken back to work 
without discrimination. This offer of settlement was also refused on 
the same ground and for the same reason. 

There being no possibility of obtaining the large influence of the 
citizens' committee behind my plan, the following day I presented 
the same plan to all the mine managers in conference. The plan was 
refused by the managers, collectively and individually, with unaltera- 
ble determination. I was also told by them that no man who had 
ever been a member of the union could be employed without first 
separating himself from the Western Federation of Miners by turning 
into the company's office his union card and signing an agreement 
not to join or belong to the union. I was told that they would never, 
under any circumstances, either directly or indirectly, recognize the 
Western Federation of Miners, permit one of its members to work in 
the mines, or in any manner treat with them, individually or col- 
lectively. 

My plan of settlement having failed, I asked the operators to pro- 
pose a plan. They proposed to take back all the men for whom 
places could be found if the men would surrender their union cards 
and sign an agreement not to belong to or join the union. They also 



E 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 169 

roposed that I, as a representative of the United States, conduct a 
allot of the men on strike on the question of returning to work on 
the operators' plan. This vote in effect would be to determine 
whether the strikers desired to renounce their union. The operators 
proposed this ballot because they stated they were convinced that 
the majority of the strikers desired to go to work, regardless of the 
union, and were only prevented from doing so through fear. As I 
was without authority to conduct such a ballot, except through 
the recognized representatives of the strikers, I laid the proposition 
before the strike leaders. 

For the reason that the operators had no offer of any kind to make 
based upon the result of such vote — that is, they would not agree to 
treat or arbitrate should the vote disclose a determination to remain 
on strike — this proposal did not meet with the approval of the strike 
leaders. 

The leaders of the strikers then advised me they had conceded all 
they could; that the only remaining concession the strikers could 
make was to give up their union cards and their right to belong to 
the union for a chance to work. This they refused to do. There 
being no remote possibility of a settlement on the basis above 
described, and no possibility of recession on the part of the operators 
or striking miners, my efforts to restore peace came to an end. 
Very respectfully, 

J. B. Densmore, Solicitor. 



REPORT OF JOHN A. MOFFITT, IMMIGRANT IN- 
SPECTOR, DETAILED AS COMMISSIONER OF 
CONCILIATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LA- 
BOR, ON HIS EFFORTS TO SECURE A SETTLE- 
MENT OF THE STRIKE. 

Washington,, D. C, November 21, 1913. 
Hon. William B. Wilson, 

Secretary United States Department of Labor, 

Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : I desire herewith to submit a report of my efforts, as 
special representative of the United States Department of Labor, to 
adjust the strike in the copper fields of the northern Michigan 
Peninsula. 

Relative to the strike in the copper fields of Michigan and in fur- 
therance of the department's desire to bring about an adjustment of 
this labor difficulty by mediation, conciliation, or arbitration, I pro- 
ceeded to Boston, pursuant to your oral instructions, and on Sep- 
tember 2 last sought the good offices of Mrs. Glendower Evans, at her 
residence, 10 Otis Place, to bring about a conference between the 
officers of the Calumet & Hecla Copper Co. in that city and your rep- 
resentative, Mrs. Evans, besides being a stockholder in the company, 
having devoted a great deal of her time in the past to the improve- 
ment of the condition of the wage earner. 

A meeting was arranged at the offices of the company, No. 12 Ash- 
burton Place, Boston, Mass., on September 5, 1913, with Mr. Quincy 
A. Shaw, president; Mr. Rudolph Agassi z, vice president; and 
Secretary-Treasurer Flagg. 

Messrs. Shaw and Agassiz dwelt at some length on the connection 
of the Western Federation of Miners with other labor difficulties, but 
Mrs. Evans and your representative finally secured Mr. Shaw's assent 
to meet committees of the employees who were on strike and of the 
employees who were not on strike, with the proviso, however, that 
members of the federation should be excluded from membership on 
either committee. Mr. Shaw further stated at that time that he 
intended to visit Calumet within a week or two, presumably with a 
view to bringing about some adjustment of the difficulty. 

I had the honor of communicating to you orally at Washington on 
September 10 last Mr. Shaw's clearly expressed willingness to meet 
committees of the employees who were not connected with the federa- 
tion, and you thereupon directed me to proceed to Calumet to confer 
with Mr. James McNaughton, the general manager of the Calumet & 
Hecla Co. and its subsidiary companies, with a view to bringing about, 
if possible, a conference between the respective representatives of the 
mine operators and the striking miners, using President Shaw's state- 
ment as the basis for such a conference. 

170 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 171 

Arriving at Calumet on the morning of the 1 3th instant, I had Mr. 
Walter Palmer, of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, arrange a meeting 
for me with Mr. McNaughton for 10 o'clock in the morning: of the 15th 
instant, at the office of the Calumet & Hecla Co. Mr. Palmer accom- 
panied me to this meeting where we met Mr. McNaughton and one 
of the attorneys for the mine managers, a Mr. Petermann. I dis- 
cussed the strike situation at some length with Mr. McNaughton, and 
upon the conclusion of said discussion, tendered the good offices of 
the Department of Labor to bring about, if possible, an adjustment 
of the trouble. Mr. McNaughton asked how I proposed to do that. 
I said by mediation or arbitration. He said as to the former they 
(meaning his companies) wanted no "go between," and as to the latter 
he knew of nothing to arbitrate. He further stated that Mr. Palmer 
had already offered the good offices of the Department of Labor, which 
were declined, and that would be his answer to me. I thereupon 
requested him to meet a committee of his men on strike, informing 
him at the same time that I had consulted Mr. President Shaw and 
other officers of the Calumet & Hecla Co. at their offices in Boston, 
and that Mr. Shaw had expressed a willingness to meet committees of 
the men, provided the Western Federation officials were not repre- 
sented on these committees. He said he knew of my having been to 
Boston, and that he and Mr. Shaw thoroughly understood each other. 
Mr. McNaughton then said that, while he would meet a committee of 
the men on strike, he first wanted to know how such committee would 
be appointed. I replied by stating that in my opinion the fairest way 
would be to call the men on strike together in meeting and allow them 
to select their own committee, thereby eliminating the influences of 
the so-called objectionable federation officials. Mr. McNaughton 
said that he would reserve the right to pass upon the personnel of 
such a committee when appointed, and if any of them were objection- 
able to him, he would refuse to meet them. 

He further stated that no matter what the outcome of a meeting 
with a committee would be, he was determined that the men would 
return to work upon individual application and in no other way, and 
that those given employment would first be obliged to sign a paper 
to the effect that they did not hold membership in the Western Fed- 
eration of Miners, or would not while in the employ of the Calumet 
& Hecla and their subsidiary companies. Mr. McNaughton then 
reviewed the occurrences that led up to the strike, dwelling at some 
length on the history of the Western Federation of Miners, and in 
so doing expressed a determination never to confer with the local or 
general officers, or the individual members of the federation "for the 
purpose of adjusting the strike or for any other purpose." At this 
point I suggested that should the Western Federation of Miners waive 
claim to recognition of their union, would he then meet a committee 
of his employees on strike. His reply to this was: "Oh, no. They 
can't work that on me — form a local organization and subsequently 
join the Western Federation." I then expressed regrets at being 
unable to have Mr. McNaughton meet his employees, and thereupon 
decided to call upon all the mine managers (nine in number) of the 
copper fields individually. 

On the morning of September 16 I called at the headquarters of 
the miners at Calumet, where I was permitted to interview those in 



172 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

charge of the strike, including the officers of the Western Federation 
of Miners. After talking over the strike situation for some little 
time, I tendered to them the good offices of the Department of Labor 
to negotiate a settlement of the strike. (For miners' reply see 
attached letter, marked " Exhibit A.") 

On the afternoon of September 16 I took up my work of meeting 
the mine managers individually by calling upon Mr. Theodore Dengler, 
manager of the Mohawk and Wolverine mines, at his home in Wol- 
verine, where I was cordially received. I explained my mission to 
Mr. Dengler, who appeared to be very much interested, and when I 
explained to him my purpose for calling upon the managers indi- 
vidually he suggested that to meet the managers I would be obliged 
to cover a large territory, and further suggested that it was just 
possible that he could get the managers together in meeting for me 
at Houghton on the following morning, September 17, but in order 
to be sure he would phone me at my hotel the same evening. I 
accepted his kind offer, believing I could accomplish more by meeting 
them collectively. This meeting was held at the Houghton Club at 
Houghton on the morning of September 17. All the mine managers, 
including Mr. McNaughton, were present; also their attorneys, 
Messrs. Reiss and Peterinann. After a general discussion of the 
strike situation had concluded, I offered, either individually or col- 
lectively, the good offices of the Department of Labor and presented 
each of them with copies of two propositions as a basis for the settle- 
ment of the strike. (Propositions herewith attached and marked 
"Exhibit B ; ") 

As to their acceptance or rejection of the good offices of the depart- 
ment, nothing was said, but on reading the propositions Attorney 
Reiss suggested that there were several new elements contained in 
the propositions that would have to be considered, and desired to 
know whether I cared to discuss them informally or wished a formal 
reply. My answer to this was that, if agreeable to the mine managers, 
an informal discussion of them could be had, but that I also desired 
a formal reply. This appearing to be satisfactory, and in fact so 
expressed by Attorney Reiss, a general discussion ensued, which 
lasted upward of two hours, and during which the mine managers 
were insistent to know the actual number or the approximate number 
of the miners that voted to strike, and requested our Mr. Palmer and 
myself to ascertain, if possible, this information for them, which we 
agreed to do. Attached herewith is a copy of our findings, marked 
"Exhibit C," copy of which was forwarded by special delivery to 
each of the mine managers. 

On the evening of September 20 Mr. Petermann, of counsel for the 
mine operators, called at my hotel and handed me a paper containing 
the reply of the mine managers to the propositions presented to them. 
(See attached paper, marked "Exhibit D.") In this connection I 
desire to further report that Mr. Petermann when handing me this 
paper said that the mine managers were determined to drive the 
Western Federation of Miners out of the copper fields, if they had to 
hght all winter to do so. I suggested that, if such was the attitude 
of the mine managers, the price exacted seemed to me inhuman, as 
there would unquestionably be terrible suffering, particularly amongst 
the women and children in such a cold country. To this lie replied 
that the price paid made no difference to him. Believing that I had 



MICHIGAN COPPEK DISTBICT STRIKE. 173 

exhausted all ireans in my power to effect an adjustment of the 
strike, I returned to Washington, and on September 24 I again had 
the honor of communicating to you orally the result of my efforts at 
Calumet. You thereupon directed me to get into communication 
with Congressman Andrew J. Peters, of Massachusetts, with whom 
you had already arranged to use his good offices with the officers of 
the Calumet & Hecla Copper Co. at Boston, to further try to effect 
a settlement of the strike at that point. Mr Peters arrived in Boston 
on Thursday morning, October 1, called at the office of the Calumet 
& Hecla Co., and in an interview with Vice President Agassiz, 
arranged a meeting for us (Mr. Peters and myself) with the officers 
of the aforesaid company, for 10 o'clock in the morning on October 3. 

At this meeting I told Mr. President Shaw of my mission to Calumet 
and the attendant results. I reminded him of his expressed willing- 
ness to meet committees of his employees on strike in our interview 
at Boston during the month of September. He said that he never 
agreed to meet committees of the Western Federation. I told him 
that the information I received at Calument was that, since the 
inauguration of the strike, the several thousand miners on strike had 
joined the Federation, and that in a communication from their repre- 
sentatives to me they waived all claims to act on any committees, 
and were perfectly willing to be represented by men not members of 
the Federation. Mr. Shaw desired to know who these men would 
be, and I suggested that two public-spirited men of the class of Mr. 
Peters, arid, if agreeable to Mr. Peters, he (Mr. Peters) to be one of 
them. Mr. Shaw evidently did not take kindly to this proposition, 
as he would not consider it until such time as the matter could be 
taken up with the full directorate of the company, and he did not 
know when this could be done. Mr. Peters thereupon propounded a 
number of questions to Mr. Shaw, among which was the following: 

Question: "Mr. Shaw, would you and two other directors of your 
company meet a committee of the men on strike if such a request was 
made of you ?" 

Answer: "Yes; provided, however, that the invitation to attend 
such a meeting would come through Mr. McNaughton, as I would do 
nothing over Mr. McNaughton's head." 

See letter of October 7 to Mr. Shaw and answer thereto. (Here- 
with attached, marked "Exhibit E.") I then told Mr. Shaw that, 
as far as I could learn from the men on strike at Calumet, if he was to 
go there there would be no question of an immediate settlement of 
the trouble and that I was somewhat surprised to learn that he had 
been to Lansing, Mich., and did not go to Calumet, as I presumed in 
my first talk with him that that was his intention. To this he 
replied as follows: That to have done so would have encouraged the 
strikers to hope that the company would deal with their organization. 
He first expressed regret that the governor and the Federal author- 
ities had offered their good offices at mediation, saying that these 
efforts merely encouraged the men to continue the strike, for had 
there been no interference he was sure the strike would have been 
settled long before this. In the few minutes' talk that followed I 
incidentally mentioned the fact that the atrocities committed by the 
so-called Waddell gunmen from New York, particularly in the case 
where a family of poor inoffensive foreigners were shot down in their 
own home, were to be deplored. In reply Mr. Shaw said that his 



174. MICHIGAN" COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

company employed some of those Waddell men and that there were 
two sides to every case. I then inquired what caused the great haste 
and how it happened that the State militia was entrained to the 
copper fields 12 hours after the strike occurred. While at Calumet 
I was informed by Gen. Abbey, who was in charge of the militia, 
that the strike started on July 23 and the soldiers were entrained on 
the 24th, and it was inconceivable to me, at least, how the militia 
could be made ready in so short a time, unless there had been some 
understanding with the governor before the strike actually took place. 
Mr. Agassiz replied to this by stating that the governor was called 
up on the phone, and the militia was consequently dispatched to the 
strike zone. This ending the conference, I returned to Washington, 
and, acting under your instructions, I forwarded a copy of Mr. 
Shaw's answer to Mr. Peters's question to the representatives of the 
men on strike at Calumet, requesting a reply containing their views 
on the proposition of meeting a committee of the directors of the 
Calumet & Hecla Co. On October 20 I received letter (herewith 
attached, marked " Exhibit -F") from Mr. Charles Mover, representing 
the striking miners. 

On October 24 I dictated and mailed a letter to Mr. Quincy A. 
Shaw (herewith attached, marked " Exhibit G") inclosing a copy of 
Mr. Mover's letter and requesting an answer thereto. On October 
31 I received his of the 29th. (Attached hereto, marked "Ex- 
hibit H.") 

Before concluding my report to you, I believe it my duty to call 
your attention to the fact that on July 15 a petition from the miners, 
requesting a conference with the mine managers to place before them 
a number of grievances for adjustment, was forwarded by registered 
letter to each of the several mine managers of the copper district. 
The receipts for such letters are herewith attached (marked "Ex- 
hibit I"), and will show that six of the mine managers received those 
petitions but took no action on them, and that Mr. Charles L. Law- 
ton, general manager of the Quincy Mining Co., refused to accept the 
petition mailed to him, the same being returned and attached hereto. 
(Marked "Exhibit J.") 

And I desire to advise you that upon investigation I am credibly 
informed from authoritative sources among the leaders of the strikers 
that "had the mine managers respected the petitions forwarded to 
them and met the miners in conference, the strike would have been 
averted; but when the petitions were ignored the only alternative the 
men had was to strike." I wish to further call your attention to the 
correspondence had with the represeutatives of the men on strike. 
(Exhibits A and F.) 

This correspondence clearly indicates that the officials of the West- 
ern Federation of Miners waived all claim of recognition of their union 
by the mine managers. 

In conclusion, I believe it but proper to report that every hon- 
orable effort was made by your representatives (Mr. Palmer and 
myself) to bring about an amicable adjustment of this industrial 
conflict, bat without avail, and feel that this report would be incom- 
plete if I failed to recognize the very valuable suggestions and advices 
given by you to your representatives in the conduct of their negotia- 
tions for a settlement of this strike. 

Respectfully submitted. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Representative. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 175 

Exhibit A. 

REPLY OF WESTERN FEDERATION OF MINERS TO PROPOSITIONS. 

Calumet, Mich., September 17, 1918. 
Mr. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Agent, Department of Labor, City. 

Honored Sir: The striking miners of the copper district of Michigan, through their 
representatives, gladly accept your good offices in attempting to negotiate a settle- 
ment with their employers. They welcome arbitration in the settlement of this 
dispute, and further consider that your proposed method of constituting the board, 
eliminating as it does all question of the recognition of the Western Federation of 
Miners, puts it above any reasonable objection on the part of the employers, while 
at the same time it meets with our hearty approval, to wit: That all differences shall 
be settled by a board of arbitration, said board to consist of five members, two of 
whom shall be chosen by the mine manageis involved in the controversy, or what- 
ever numbers may desire a settlement; two to be chosen by the strikers in mass meeting 
assembled for that purpose, the two so chosen not to be members of the federation; 
the fifth member of the board to be chosen by Hon. W. B. Wilson, Secretary of the 
Department of Labor. We shall accept the arbitrament of said board in all matters 
at issue and hope that it will enter upon its duties very soon. 

Appreciating your efforts in behalf of industrial peace based on justice, we remain, 
" ilk 



Faithfully, yours, 



C. E. Mahoney. 
Yanco Terzich. 
Guy E Miller. 



Exhibit B. 

first proposition. 

Houghton, Mich., September 17, 191S. 
To the managers of the mines in the copper district of Michigan: 

Gentlemen: As a special representative of the United States Department of Labor 
I offer for your immediate consideration the good offices of the department in bring- 
ing about an adjustment of the existing strike of the mine workers. These good 
offices of the department are offered to you collectively or separately for the purpose 
of mediation, conciliation, or arbitration, under existing conditions preferably the 
latter, to wit: 

First. That all of the issues involved in the strike shall be settled by arbitration. 

Second. That the board of arbitration shall be composed of five members. 

Third. That two of the members shall be selected by the mine managers. 

Fourth. That two of the members shall be chosen by the mine workers now on 
strike. 

\ Fifth. That the latter two members shall not be members of the Western Federa- 
tion of Miners. 

Sixth. That the latter two members shall be selected at a meeting which all mine 
workers now on strike shall be invited to attend. 

Seventh. That the fifth member shall be designated by the United States Secretary 
of Labor. 

Eighth. That the decision of this board of arbitration shall be binding on both the 
managers and the mine workers now on strike. 

If this proposal as a whole is not acceptable to you, I request that you indicate 
what part of the proposition is objectionable. 

Respectfully submitted. 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 

second proposition. 

Houghton, Mich., September 17, 1913. 
To the managers of the mines in the copper district of Michigan. 

Gentlemen: With the view of adjusting amicably the differences between you 
and your former employees now on strike, I propose to you, collectively or separately, 
that you discuss these differences with a committee composed of such a number of 



176 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

persons as you may suggest; that these persons shall be members of the Western 
Federation of Miners, or shall not be members of that organization, as you may pre- 
fer, and they shall be chosen at a meeting which all of the mine workers on strike shall 
be invited to attend. 
Respectfully submitted . 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 



Exhibit C. 

Michigan Hotel, 
Calumet, Mich., September 19, 1913. 
To the managers of ike mines in the copper district of Michigan. 

Gentlemen: In compliance with the request that was made at your meeting in 
Houghton on the l7th instant, that I should ascertain, if possible, the number of votes 
cast by your employees in favor of a strike and the conditions under which the vote 
was taken, I desire to inform you that upon investigation at the union headquarters 
at Calumet and other points I gathered the following information: 

That the executive board of the Federation of Miners was requested by the mine 
workers of this district to give their approval to holding a referendum vote on two 
propositions, which was granted, to wit: 

(a) Asking for a joint conference of the mine managers and the employees. 

(b) In case a joint conference should be refused, that a strike be called. 

After the aforesaid request was granted, meetings of the men were held at their 
respective places of meeting in this district, and they were notified that on July 1 
balloting would begin at the offices of the secretaries, at the following places: Calumet, 
Ahmeek, South Range, Hancock, and Mass City, and that the polls would be open 
each day until July 12, from 8 o'clock in the morning until 6 p. m., and all the men 
were urged to vote. 

Notice of saia balloting was advertised in the local papers in foieign languages, and 
committees of the men were also sent to the various localities, to remind the men of 
the referendum. The polls were closed to voting at 12 o'clock noon on July 12, ana a 
canvass of the votes showed that nearly 9,000 votes were cast, and of this numbei 98 
pei cent voted in favor of the aforementioned propositions. 
Very truly, yours. 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 



Exhibit D. 

MINE MANAGERS' REPLY. 

Hon. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 

Dear Sir: The undersigned, being managers of the copper mines of the counties of 
Houghton and Keweenaw in the State of Michigan, desire to express to you their most 
sincere appreciation of your offer of the good offices of the department in bringing 
about an adjastment of the existing strike, involving part of the mine workers of our 
companies, submitted to us in yours of September 16. 

The first offer submitted by you begins with the proposition: "That all of the 
issues involved in the strike shall be settled by arbitration." 

The real issue involved in the strike is recognition of the Western Federation of 
Miners as an organization entitled to represent, through its officials, the mine workers 
of this district. This has been publicly announced in speeches and in print by the 
officials of that organization themselves. 

In like offers of mediation made by the governor of Michigan, personally and through 
special representatives appointed by him and acting by his authority, we have hereto- 
fore definitely declined to treat with the Western Federation of Miners, either directly 
or indirectly. This conclusion was arrived at in the first instance because of the past 
history of the federation in its operations throughout the mining districts of the West; 
because it was and is our firm conviction that the domination of the employees of the 
mining companies by that federation would not be to the best interests of our employees 
themselves; and because the federation was entirely unjustified in attempting to 
speak as the representatives of our employees, for the reason that, according to our best 
information at the time of the inception of the strike, confirmed by all the information 
which we have obtained since then, not to exceed 25 per cent of the employees of the 
companies (and in many instances a much smaller percentage) were members of the 



MICHIGAN" COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 177 

organization, and the large majority of our employees were not willing to be domi- 
nated by that organization. 

It should also be recognized that because of the attitude of the officers, leaders, and 
organizers of the Western Federation toward the mining companies and their officials 
and employees there could not be a resumption of mutual relations of good will and 
confidence between employers and employees so long as the employees or any part of 
them are under the influence or domination of the federation. This should be appar- 
ent from the nature of the teachings and utterances of the officers, leaders, and organ- 
izers of the federation, as set forth in their published speeches and in their official 
publications. 

All of the larger mines of the district have, resumed operations with a large portion 
of the normal forces of their employees, who are entirely satisfied with conditions. In 
the case of the Calumet & Hecla, after deducting from the normal force those who are 
known to have removed from the district by reason of strike conditions or for other 
reasons, from 80 to 85 per cent of its employees have returned to work and are now 
engaged in their several occupations. Similar conditions (with varying percentages) 
exist at the other larger mines of the district which are now in operation. 

Under these circumstances it is our judgment that we would be remiss in our duties 
toward the great majority of our employees if we should take any action which in any 
manner would recognize the VCestern Federation of Miners as the representatives of 
the mine workers or as dictating or dominating the actions of our employees, even to 
the extent of an arbitration as to their right to recognition or as to any other differ- 
ences, real or fancied, which the federation may urge. 

For these reasons, among many others which might be mentioned, we must adhere 
to our position that we will in no manner deal with the Western Federation of Miners, 
either directly, through mediation, arbitration, or in any other way. 

The only issue involved at the time the strike was called by the Western Federation 
of Miners was our refusal to enter into any conference with a committee or representa- 
tives of the federation. The only demand that was made was for such a conference, 
with a statement that if we were not willing to meet the officials of the Western Fed- 
eration it would be taken as proof that the situation could not be settled peaceably. 
We have had no other grievance submitted to us in any way, either officially or other- 
wise. This was not a grievance of our employees, but was a grievance of the federa- 
tion, represented by their officials and organizers from other States, who are entirely 
unjustified in makir.g any claim to a right to represent the employees of the mines of 
this district. 

Both of your propositions, as submitted by you. involve arbitration or discussion 
by or with committees, a part of whom are to be chosen "by the mine workers now 
on strike." 

The mine workers now on strike are those only who are members of the Western 
Federation of Miners. As above stated, they constitute but a small part of our em- 
ployees No method of choosing or appointing arbitrators or committees by "the 
mine workers row on strike" could be devised in which such choice will not be the 
direct choice of the Western Federation of Miners, as such, and with that federation 
we will have no dealings of any kind. 

It can not be too definitely understood with relation to the present situation that 
the minirg companies can not and will not in any manner recognize or deal with the 
Western Federation of Miners. They do not represent our employees, but on the 
contrary, under present conditions, they stand between the employers and the em- 
ployees as the only bar to a satisfactory and amicable adjustment of all existing 
differe 

Because of this situation and without any lack of full appreciation of the efforts of 
yourself and the Department of Labor, we feel that it is necessary to say to you that we 
can not accept any plan of mediation or arbitration between the mine employers and 
"the mine workers on strike," which is but another designation for the Western Feder- 
ation of Miners. 

But we beg to suggest to you., in view of the situation as above stated and as it exists 
in the counties of Houghton and Keweenaw at this date, that if you should use your 
personal influence and the influence of the Department of Labor to induce the officials, 
organizers, and leaders of the Western Federation of Miners to come to a full realization 
of the futility of any attempt to secure recognition in this district or to retain a standing 
therein which would permit them to remain as a factor of influence among our 
employees or any portion thereof, and to withdraw themselves and then influence from 
the present situation and from the district, there would then be nothing in the wav of 
an early adjustment of any differences or grievances, if they exist, between the 
employers and their employees. In this wav and in this way onlv can the present 
deplorable condition be remedied or adjusted. 

03— S. Doc. 381, G2-3 12 



178 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

Since the inception of' the strike it has been stated in published speeches of the 
officials of the Western Federation of Miners that they demanded an eight-hour day, 
abolition of the one-man drill, and a minimum wage of $3 per day for all employees! 
No grievances of that kind were stated or submitted to the companies in any form. 

As to the working hours, it may be stated to you, as was stated to Judge Murphy, who 
was here on a similar mission in behalf of the governor of Michigan, that for some time 
prior to the inception of the strike there has been under consideration by the several 
companies the institution of an eight-hour day for underground employees, so far as 
that rule could be made practicable. The present strike situation does not alter the 
intention of the companies in that regard. It is known to the companies that a large 
number of their underground employees do not want the eight-hour day, and are 
opposed to it, but we will state to you that if the eight-hour day for our underground 
employees is desired by them, or a sufficient majority of them, it has been and will 
continue to be given favorable consideration. 

The one-man drill question is purely and simply a manufactured grievance. We 
know it to be the fact that those who operate these drills do not want them abolished. 
The continuation of the mining industry in this district requires the use and applica- 
tion of every modern appliance for the reduction of cost. It is made necessary by the 
low copper contents of the rock and the expenses of deep mining, as compared with the 
higher production of other competing districts. The one-man drill is an economic 
necessity which has come to stay. The conditions of its use have been prescribed by 
the legislature, and the question of its abolition is one which could not be submitted 
to arbitrators. 

As to the minimum-wage question, the conditions at the different mines vary to 
such a large extent that no scale can be adopted applicable to all the different con- 
ditions, 'ihis has been impossible in the past and. will continue impossible in the 
future, and would be as unfair to the laborers themselves as to the companies. 

We greatly regret that the situation is such as to render the plan of arbitration or of 
conference with a committee or with representatives of the Western Federation of 
Miners an impossibility to us. With the elimination of that organization, arbitration 
or mediation would become wholly unnecessary, as we are convinced that there 
would be no difficulty in adjusting satisfactorily all questions that might arise between 
our employees and the respective companies by whom they are employed 

Dated at Houghton, Mich., September 20, 1913. 

Very respectfully. Jas. MacNaughton. 

F. W. Denton. 
J. L. Harris. 
Theo. Dengler. 
R. R. Seeber. 
Enoch Henderson. 
Chas. L. Lawton. 

The following mines are represented by the above signatures: 

Mr. James MacNaughton is general manager of the Calumet & Hec'a Mining Co., 
Ahmeek Mining Co., Allouez Mining Co., North Kearsarge Mine, South Kearsarge 
Mine, Tamarack Mining Co., Osceola Consolidated Mining Co., Lam ium Mining Co., 
La Salle Copper Co., Isle Royale Copper Co., Superior Copper Co., St. Louis Copper 
Co., and Centennial Copper Mining Co. 

Mr. F. W. Denton is general manager of the Baltic Mining Co.. Champion Copper 
Co., and Trimountain Mining Co. 

Mr. Charles L, Lawton is general manager of the Quincy Mining Co. 

Mr. Theo. Dengler is agent of the Wolverine Copper Mining Co. and Mohawk Mining 
Co. 

Mr. J. L. Harris is general manager of the Hancock Consolidated Mining Co. and 
Oneco Copper Mining Co. 

Mr. R. R. Seeber is superintendent of the Winona Mining Co. and Houghton Copper 
Co. 

Exhibit E. 

Department of Labor, 
Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, October 7, 1913. 
Quincy A. Shaw, Esq., 

12 Ashburton Place, Boston, Mass. 
. Dear Sir: As my report to Secretary Wilson, of the United States Department of 
Labor, of the interview Congressman Peters and I had with you and Mr. Agassiz at 
your office at Boston, is in the course of preparation, and in order to have said report 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 179 

as nearly correct as possible, I desire to ask if I quote you properly in the following 
answer to a question propounded by Mr. Peters: 

Question by Mr. Peters: "Mr. Shaw, would you and two other directors of your 

company meet a committee of the men on strike if such a request was made of you?" 

Answer by Mr. Shaw: "Yes; provided, however, that the invitation to attend such 

a meeting would come through Mr. MacNaughton, as I would not do anything over 

Mr. MacNaughton 's head." 

An early reply will be inexpressibly appreciated by, 
Yours, very truly, 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special Representative, United States Department of Labor, 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co.. 

Boston, Mass., October 10, 1913. 
John" A. Moffitt, Esq., 

Special Representative United States Department of Labor, 
Office of Secretary, Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge your letter of October 7, which I only received 
this morning on my return from a trip to Buffalo and New York. 

You have correctly given my answer to Mr. Peters's question, except that there 
should be added to the answer my statement at that morning's meeting that I would 
not meet a committee of our former employees if any members of the Western Federa- 
tion of Miners were on such a committee and, furthermore, I stated that there were 
many men formerly in our employ who have participated, and are continuing to par- 
ticipate, in acts of violence, who. in our opinion, are of a type of man whom we will 
not again knowingly employ, and that if any of these were on the committee I should 
reserve the right as to whether or not I should see the committee. 
Yours, very truly, 

Quincy A. Shaw, President. 

October 15, 1913. 
Mr. Charles Moyer, 

President Western Federation of Miners, Calumet, Mick. 

Dear Sir: On the morning of the 4th instant Congressman Andrew J. Peters, of 
Massachusetts, and I had a meeting with Messrs. Quincy A. Shaw, president; Ru- 
dolph Agassiz, vice president; and George A. Flagg, secretary' -treasurer, of the Calu- 
met & Hecla Mining Co., at the offices of said company, 12 Ashburton Place, Boston, 
Mass., where we urged these gentlemen to agree to meet committees representing 
their men now on strike in the copper fields of Michigan; in fact, we pointed out to 
them that, in our opinion, it was their duty to meet their men and try and effect an 
amicable adjustment of the present strike. After a two-and-a-half hour discussion 
of the conditions obtaining in the copper fields of Michigan, at least as I saw them, 
Congressman Peters propounded a number of what might be termed "acute" ques- 
tions to Mr. Shaw, one of which I herewith inclose a copy. 

In preparing my report to Secretary Wilson of this meeting, and in order to have 
same correct, on the 7th instant I forwarded the question and answer to Mr. Shaw for 
verification, and on the 10th instant I received his answer, a copy of which is here- 
with inclosed. 

I therefore desire that after a careful perusal of the said questions and answers 
thereto, you will let me know the position of the men on strike. As to Mr. Shaw's 
reply, I might further say that our files here in Washington will be incomplete until 
we receive your answer to the propositions under cover. 

Anticipating an early reply, believe me, 

Very truly, yours, John A. Moffit, 

Special Representative, United States Department of Labor. 



Exhibit F. 



Calumet. Mich.. October 18, 1918. 



John A. Moffitt. 

Special Representative, United States Department of Labor, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: In reply permit me to say that we know of no men on strike who are 
not members of the local unions of the Western Federation of Miners. It is agreeable 
to us that a committee selected bv the men on strike shall meet Mr. Shaw and two 



ISO MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 

directors of the Calumet & B , at any time Mr. Shaw and said 

directors express a willingness to meet them. 

We further agree that if Mr. Shaw and the directors should make any concessions 
to the demands of the men on strike and that a referendum vote will be taken to 
determine whether the same shall be accepted. 

It is further agreeable that no lepresentative of our international organization shall 
serve on said committee. 

Very truly. Chas. H. Moyer. 

President Western Federation of Miner*. 

Calumet, Mich., October 18, 1913. 
Mr. John A. Mopfitt. 

Special Representative. United States Department of Labor, 

Washington. D. C. 

Dear Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of yours of the 14th instant, inclosing a 
question propounded by Congressman Andrew J. Peters, of Massachusetts, to Mr, 
Quincy A. Shaw, president of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co.. at a meeting held at 
the office of said company on the morning of October 4, and have carefully noted 
your request for an answer from me to the proposition submitted by Mr. Shaw. 

As I understand the question submitted by Mr. Peters was as follows: 
"Mr. Shaw, would you and two other directors of your company meet a committee 
of the men on strike if such a request was made of you? ' ' Answer of Mr. Shaw: " Yes; 
provided, however, that the invitation to attend such a meeting would come through 
Mr. McNaughton, as I would do nothing over Mr. McXaughton's head." 

And that on October 10, in answer to an inquiry from you. addressed to Mr. Shaw, 
asking him if you had quoted him properly, he stated that he had been correctly quoted, 
but that it was his desire to have added to the answer that he would not meet a com- 
mittee of former employees if any members of the Western Federation of Miners were 
on such a committee. 

In reply permit me to say that we know of no men on strike who are not members 
of the local unions of the Western Federation of Miners. It is agreeable to us that a 
committee, selected by the men on strike, shall meet Mr. Shaw and two other directors 
of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., at any time Mr. Shaw and said directors express 
a willingness to meet them. 

We further agree that if Mr. Shaw and the directors should make any concessions 
to the demands of the men on strike, that the committee will refer the same back to 
the men on strike and that a referendum vote will be taken to determine whether 
the same shall be accepted. 

It is further agreeable that no representative of our international organization shall 
serve on said committee. 

Believing that an adjustment of this deplorable situation would result should such 
a conference be held, and assuring you of our earnest desire to do anything within 
reason to that end. I am. 

Very truly. Chas. H. Moyer. 

President Western Federation of Miners. 



Exhibit G. 



United States Department of Labor, 

Immigration Service. 
Washington, D. C, October 24, 1918. 
Mr. Quincy A. Shaw, 

President Calumet d: Hecla Mining Co.. 

12 Ashburton Avenue, Boston, Mass. 
Dear Sir: By direction of the Hon. W. B. Wilson, Secretary of the United States 
Department of Labor, I forwarded to the striking miners at Calumet, Mich., a copy 
of the result of the meeting held at your office at Boston, Mass., on the 4th instant, 
at which Mr. Agassiz, ( < mgressman Peters, yourself, and I were present, requesting 
a reply to the suggestions contained therein. 

On the 20th instant I received an answer, a copy of which I herewith inclose, and 
request that you give immediate consideration to the propositions contained in same, 
and kindly favor me with your conclusions in the matter as soon as is convenient for 
you to do so. 

Very truly, yours, 

John A. Moffitt, 
Special L Un ited States Department of Labor. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. 181 

Exhibit H. 

Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., 

Boston, Mass., October 29, 1913. 
Mr. John A. Moffitt, 

Special Representative, United States Department of Labor, 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Sir: Upon my return from Philadelphia this morning I find your letter to me 
of the 24th instant inclosing copy of letter to you signed " Chas. H. Moyer, president 
W. F. of M." (president of the Western Federation of Miners). 

I have repeatedly stated to you that we could have no negotiations with this organi- 
zation. 

Without, however, dwelling on this and the other considerations which in them- 
selves would govern our action, I feel confident you will agree with me that the acts of 
lawlessness and violence of almost daily and nightly occurrence at the Michigan copper 
mines since our interview on the 4th instant make it impossible to consider the matters 
commented upon in his communication. 

I take this opportunity of sending you, under separate cover, a half-dozen copies of 
the report made to Gov. Ferris by the committee appointed by the Copper Country 
Commercial Club to look into the conditions existing in the copper mines at Lake 
Superior. 

Yours, truly, 

Quincy A. Shaw, President. 



Exhibit I. 
6 CH. BN. 



Hancock, Mich. 



Yours 157, 17th sgd. Dan Dullivan to Quincy Mining Co. Decline to accept. M. 
S. G. 
R. G.— New York, N. Y., July 18-13.— 10.10 p. m. 



Exhibit J. 

Letter No. 121. 

P. O., Hancock, Mich. 

Received for registration 7/15, 1913, from copper district, C. E. Hietala, Secy, 
union. Addressed to James MacNaughton, gen. mngr. of Calumet & Hecla Mining 
Co. 1st class postage prepaid. Postmaster, per T. W. 

(Return receipt requested.) 



[Face.] 



Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 121. 
Return to C. E. Hietala, sec'y, Box 217, Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Calumet, Mich., July 15, 1913, 3.30 p. m. 



[Back.] 
registry return receipt. 



Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which 
appears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery 7/15, 1913. Jas. MacNaughton. Frank Gillet, agent. 



Letter No. 150. 

P. 0., Hancock, Mich. 



Received for registration 7/16, 1913, from Copper Dist. Union, C. E. Hietala, sec'y, 
addressed to Mr. Richard M. Edwards, supt. Franklin Mng. Co., Houghton, Mich. 



1 class postage prepaid. Postmaster, per T. A. W. 
(Return receipt requested.) 
Special delivery. 



182 MICHIGAN COPPER DISTBICT STRIKE. 

[Face.] 
Special delivery. 

Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 150. 
Return to C. E. Hietala, sec'y, Box 217, Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Houghton, Mich., July 17, 1913, 10.30 a. m. 

[Back.] 

REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 

Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which 
appears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery, 7/17, 1913. R. M. Edwards. 



[Face.] 



Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 148. 
Return to C. E. Hietala, sec'y? Box 217, Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Hancock, Mich., July 17, 1913, 4 p. m. 



[Back.] 

REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 



Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which 
appears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery. 7/17/13. Jno. L. Harris. Oscar Johnson, agent. 



[Face.] 



Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 151. 
Return to: C. E. Hietala, Sec'y, box 217, Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Jul 17 1913 

[Back.] 



REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 



Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which ap" 
pears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery, July 17, 1913. C. K. Hitchcock, jr. 



[Face.] 



Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 142. 
Return to: C. E. Hietala, Sec'y, Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Painesdale, Mich., Jul 16 1913 1pm 



[Back.] 
REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 



Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which ap- 
pears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery, July 16, 1913. Fred. W. Denton. Fred W. Collick. 



[Face.] 



Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 141. 
Return to C. E. Hietala, secy., Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Mass, July 16, 1913, 5 p. m. 



[Back.] 

REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 



Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which 
appears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery, 7/16/13. Elton W. Walker. E. F. S., agent. 



MICHIGAN COPPER DISTRICT STRIKE. # 183 

[Face.] 

Post Office Department. Official business. Original Reg. No. 140. 
Return to C. E. Hietala, secy., Hancock, Mich. 
(Stamped:) Mohawk, Mich., July 16, 1913, 5 p. m. 

[Back.] 

REGISTRY RETURN RECEIPT. 

Received from the postmaster registered article, the original number of which 
appears on the reverse side of this card. 

Date of delivery, 7/16, 1913. Mohawk Mining Co. F. H. Getchell, clerk. 



Letter No. 140. 

P. O., Hancock, Mich. 

Received for registration 7/15/1913, from C. E. Hietala, sec'y, addressed to Frederick 
W. Denton, Painesdale, Mich. 1 class postage prepaid. Postmaster, per J. A. W. 

(Return receipt requested.) 

Letter No. 141. 

P. 0., Hancock, Mich. 

Received for registration 7/15/1913, from C. E. Hietala, sec'y, addressed to Mohawk 
Mining Co., Mohawk, Mich.. 1 class postage prepaid. Postmaster, per J. A. W. 

(Return receipt requested.) 



Letter No. 142. 

P. O., Hancock, Mich. 

Received for registration 7/15/1913, from C. E. Hietala, sec'y, addressed to Elton 
W. Walker, Mass Cons. Mn'g Co., Mass City, Mich. 1 class postage prepaid. Post- 
master, per J. A. W. 

(Return receipt requested.) 



[Face.] 
Sent to Ipswich defense fund, Ipswich. Donation. 

[Back.] 

RECEIPT FOR U. S. POSTAL MONEY ORDER. 

Dollars, 12. (Amount for which issued.) 

(Stamped:) Hancock, Mich., July 15, 1913. M. 0. B. 



Special. 

Letter No. 117. 

P. O., Hancock, Mich. 

Received for registration, 7/14, 1913, from Box 217, C. E. Hietala, sec'y, addressed 
to Mr. Chas. L. Lawton, general mngr. Quincy Mng. Co., Hancock, Mich. 1 class 
postage prepaid. Postmaster, per J. A. W. 



[Sealed envelope.] 

Registered No. 117. 

(Addressed:) Mr. Chas. L. Lawton, general manager of the Quincy Mining Co., 
Quincy, Hancock, Michigan. 
From C. E. Hietala, sec'y Copper District Union, Box 217, Hancock, Mich. 
Return receipt requested. 
(Written on face:) Refused. 

[Back.] 

(Stamped:) Hancock, Mich., July 14, 1913. Registered. 

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